Somewhere I Belong
by Eternally Addicted
Summary: Never having belonged to her parents' pretentious world, Bella assumes a fake identity and sets off to spend her last summer before college doing something meaningful. Her adventure begins with a helping hand from a handsome stranger.
1. That's Gonna Leave A Mark

Hi, Everyone! I am back with another tale to tell and I hope you enjoy it as much as you have my others.

Once again I have My Bella and Hope4More along with me and I can't even begin to tell you how incredibly lucky I am to have them in my corner. They both have awesome stories of their own that you should check out. Thank you to you both, I couldn't do this without you!

Please read the info after the chapter as it has important information about my posting schedule.

See you at the bottom. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. __**Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. _**No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization.**_

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_I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real  
I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long  
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)  
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along  
Somewhere I Belong_

_Lyrics By Linkin Park_

**June 4****th****, 2011**

***{Bella}***

My longtime best friend, Alice, and I sat in an out of the way corner of the Miami airport in hard uncomfortable plastic chairs, waiting for our flights to be called. Alice had begged me to sit in the softer upholstered seats out in the main waiting area but I was too afraid we'd be spotted there. Even though we'd been left at the airport nearly two hours earlier, I was consumed with the fear that my parents would discover what I was up to and come back to make sure I boarded the same plane as Alice or worse, drag me back home with them.

Shifting my position in attempt to find a more comfortable one, I thought over the events of the last couple of weeks. Alice and I had just spent two weeks in the Bahamas with her parents and mine as a gift for our graduation and we were now headed off to two different countries. Although as far as all of our parents were concerned we would _both_ be spending the summer together in sunny Acapulco.

However nothing could be further from the truth. It was only Alice who would be setting foot on Mexican soil and enjoying a leisurely summer before heading off to college in August. I, on the other hand, would be going someplace much different. While I had definitely enjoyed my time with Alice, I was looking forward to not being under the constant watch of my parents as well as beginning the adventure I was sure this summer was going to be. I just had to get there without being discovered first.

I began to chew my lip nervously when the airport loud speaker began to crackle with the announcements of more boarding flights. I was extremely anxious to get out of the airport before I was stopped. Hopefully the measures I'd taken to change up my appearance would help if for some reason my parents had discovered my plans and one of their hired goons was lurking around looking for me.

Not only was I flying under a different last name, I had traded the strapless pink embroidered sundress and white sandals I'd been wearing when I'd said goodbye to my parents this morning, for a graphic t-shirt, jean shorts and flip flops—clothes that weren't part of my normal attire and an outfit that my mother would certainly frown upon. I had also swept my hair up into a pony tail and hid my face behind a large pair of sunglasses that Alice had given me. I had even gone so far as to book a hotel room for a day in Miami under my alias name so that I could wait for Alice's connecting flight home in Miami since I would arrive back in the states a day ahead of her. Everything had been meticulously planned and fool-proofed as far as I could see, but at the moment it was doing little to ease my worries.

I jumped in my seat when I heard the words for my flight blast through the airport terminal.

_Flight 979 departing for Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic is now boarding. vuelo 979 de partir hacia Puerto Plata, República Dominicana está internado._

"Shit, that's me," I blurted out to Alice in my startled state. My pulse began to quicken as I got up from my seat and turned to face my friend.

"I can't believe you're really going through with this," she said in a cross between a sad and a somewhat shocked tone. She had known me since the first grade, so there really was no reason for her to be shocked. She knew better than anyone once I made up my mind to do something I stuck to it.

"Al," I sighed using the nickname I had given her years before. "Please don't give me a hard time about this. You know how important this is to me."

The look in her eyes as she replied told me she was remorseful, but still sad over my impending departure. "I do. I really, really do. I guess I'm just going to miss you, Bell. We've spent every summer since we met together. Well except that one year my mom sent me to that hideous etiquette school."

I couldn't stop myself from giggling at the horrendous look on her face as she remembered that terrible summer. We had been thirteen at the time and while I had gone to etiquette classes after school, Alice had been forced to go to tutoring for our pre-algebra class. She was a smart girl and got good grades easily in her other classes; math was just not her strong subject and so she was forced to go to etiquette school that summer. Plus she had always been a bit of a tomboy, which her mother hadn't liked at all, and according to the conversation Alice had overheard her mom having with her father, she had hoped the etiquette classes would help cure Alice of what she considered an annoying characteristic.

"I know, Al, I am going to miss you too. It's just a couple of months and then we'll be back home and it will be like I was never gone."

"Just promise me you'll be careful. You do realize you are about to step into a world you've never been a part of, right? I mean what kind of living conditions are you going to have, Bell? I've seen the pictures on the news."

In a last ditch effort to calm her fears, and assure her I'd be fine, I reminded her of the steps I'd taken to do just that. "I know what I'm doing and I know what I am getting myself into. Remember I had to go to that training seminar over spring break."

It really had been far too easy for me to attend given the fact my parents had gone out of town over spring break and had left me home with the housekeeper and other staff members they insisted we needed to keep our household running. I'd never understood why most of it couldn't be done by myself or my parents and had always done as much for myself as I could and could still remember the horrified look on my mother's face the first time she caught me doing my own laundry. It still made me giggle to think about it. You would have thought she had caught me doing something much worse that washing my own clothes.

The airlines made a second announcement that my flight was boarding so I knew I really had to go. Or I was going to end up going to that resort with Alice after all.

"I have to go."

"Okay," she said with a sad look on her face. Trying hard not to pout anymore, she forced a slight smile and then hugged me tightly. "I'm gonna say it again whether you want me to or not. Please be careful, Bell, and call me if you can. And, well, I guess you should try to have a little bit of fun too. Who knows maybe you'll meet some hot guys."

I rolled my eyes at her teasing comment and hugged her even tighter. "I will. You're my best friend, Al, I love you like a sister. I'll see you soon."

"Love you too, Bell."

She reluctantly released me from the tight grip her small arms had on me. With one last goodbye, I turned and walked as fast as I could towards the departure gate.

"Wait!" she called out to me after I'd taken about ten steps.

"Alice," I whined. "I'm going to miss my plane."

"I'm sorry, but I just had to remind you of something."

"What?" I asked her not having any clue what she could possibly be thinking of.

"Well…It's just…"

"Spit it out, Mary Alice," I told her using her full name.

"Okay, but don't hate me for saying this."

"Like that's even possible," I said rolling my eyes at her.

"Just remember if you somehow get caught. You didn't get that fake ID or passport from me," she said so fast I was hardly able to make out what she was saying. Luckily I was used to her mouth running a-mile-a-minute when she was nervous.

"I swear on all the shoes in your closet that I'd never give you away," I told her making her gasp in shock over the fact that I'd even remotely think of using her shoes as such collateral.

"Okay," she said softly. "When you put it like that I know we are good. I mean you do know how much I love my shoes so I know you'd never risk them. Sorry, I'm just nervous about this whole thing."

"I know. I'm nervous too, but I promise it will be okay. Now I really, really have to go."

"Stay safe, Bell," she said giving me one last hug.

"You too, Al. Don't choke on your Pina Colada while watching all the hot guys on the beach," I teased to help lighten the moment. "See ya in a few weeks." I hugged her back and then was off to catch my plane.

Removing the sunglasses I had kept on to try and hide my face, I looked up to the departure gate sign to make sure I was headed in the right direction. I also kept looking over my shoulder, expecting to see my parents or one of their so called assistants hot on my ass, ready to drag me back home. It would be just like my parents to send someone to "fetch me", as my mother would say, instead of coming after me themselves. With one last quick glance over my left shoulder I saw I was still in the clear.

Making it to the gate, I resisted the urge to bounce in place and instead curled and uncurled my toes repeatedly to hide my anxiety as I held out my boarding pass to the airline attendant. As I did, I heard the call for Alice's flight and I was grateful she wouldn't be left sitting in the airport alone for too long.

"Enjoy your flight," the airline attendant said as she handed the pass back to me and gave me a pleasant smile.

Feeling somewhat relieved, I let out a long whoosh of air as I made my way onto the plane. Glancing down at my boarding pass, I searched it until I found my seat number.

Taking a few more slow long breaths, I began to calm slightly as I made my way to my seat. Once I located it I sat down after plopping my backpack into the empty seat next to me. I was hoping that no one was booked to sit in it as I was really hoping to be able to sleep. I had been up all night tossing and turning with worry that my parents would discover what I was really planning to do this summer.

Resting my head on the back of the seat, I closed my eyes thinking about what it was I was about to do. I was hell bent on doing something meaningful and exciting with my summer this year. While every other girl in my high school graduating class was off to some posh resort in Mexico, I was headed to The Dominican Republic to help with the humanitarian relief efforts going on to recover from the damage done to the northern coast of the island by a category three hurricane.

It was a long standing, time honored rite of passage that when you graduated from Saint Maria's, the well-to-do all-girls private high school I had gone to, you headed off for the summer with all the girls from your class to some uppity resort in Acapulco, Mexico. It was supposed to be a time to let loose and have fun before you went off to college in the fall. Not for this recent high school graduate.

Sure I felt guilty that I was ditching Alice. We had talked about that trip since the first day of our freshman year. But the nearer graduation day came, the more I knew that was not how I wanted to spend my summer. I was tired of the fake girls, with their fake boobs and their fake nails and their hair colors that came out of a bottle, not from their DNA. They weren't all like that but those who weren't were few and far between. Even those who hadn't altered their god-given bodies, still had fake personalities that thrived on what they had that was better than what someone else had.

Alice and I, along with a few others, were amongst the minority who were more down to earth. Our manners were real and not a phony act we put on, and our boobs and hair color were the ones we had been destined to have the day our mothers conceived us. However there was still one big difference between Alice and myself. Alice saw her wealth as a means to do what she wanted in life. While she wasn't stuck up or fake, the girl had developed a love for shopping once she had outgrown her tomboy tendencies. I often teased her, saying she had more shoes than Jimmy Choo did. But even though Alice saw her parents' money as a way for her to be able to do whatever she wanted in life, she didn't let it make her into something or someone she wasn't like so many others we knew had.

Me…well, when I was little I loved all the indulgences that came with being Daddy's princess. I loved the fancy parties the other girls my age threw, the frilly dresses, the obnoxious amount of dolls and other toys I had, and yes the racks of shoes I'd accumulated. But somewhere along the line as I grew up, I saw just how fake and pretentious it all was.

Al has since then told me I was an anomaly. My parents had more money than they knew what to do with, but I wanted no part of the flashy socialite life they had planned for me. The only perk I saw to their wealth was that I was able to attend any college I wanted no matter the cost. In fact, if all their money ever got me was a top notch education, then I was fine with that. My education was something that was incredibly important to me, which was why when the acceptance letter I'd gotten to my first choice of schools came back in January, I was quick to register for classes. I wanted to do something meaningful with my life. I wanted to make a difference in the world. A real difference. And not the way my parents thought it was acceptable to do. Not where you wrote a check for some cause and then looked the other way thinking you had done all you could. I wanted to actively participate in something that would make a difference in peoples' lives.

I thought I had gotten extremely lucky last summer just before school resumed. Our school had been having a fundraiser for a huge earthquake that had destroyed part of Chili and the Red Cross was not only having a blood drive, but they were also seeking volunteers to go help with the relief work that needed to be done. Knowing that I wanted to be a nurse and help people, I saw an opportunity and gathered the information I needed so that a few weeks later when I turned eighteen, I could sign up to spend this entire summer volunteering. However upon turning in the required paperwork once I'd turned eighteen, I learned that a weeklong training seminar was required before you could be officially registered. I had been unable to complete mine until this past spring break in order to keep it hidden from my parents. Now, when the rest of my graduating class was on their way to sun, sand, bronze skinned boys and no doubt an obscene amount of tequila, I was on my way to the hurricane ravaged island of The Dominican Republic. Sure I'd see the sand and sun and might even get a chance to have a swig or two of tequila, but while they slept at night in soft cool beds in their air conditioned rooms, I'd be on a cot in a tent. And truth be told, I was looking forward to it.

"Miss," I heard a female voice call while at the same time I felt a hand tap me on the arm. I opened my eyes and found one of the flight attendants standing next to me.

"I'm sorry, am I in the wrong seat or something?" I asked as I reached for my backpack and tugged on the zipper to the front compartment where I had stuffed my passport and boarding pass.

"No. I just wanted to inform you that we'll be taking off soon and you can't leave your backpack unsecured in that seat next to you. Airline policy states you have to store it in the overhead compartment."

"Um, sure. No problem," I replied to her.

You would think as often as I'd flown in the past I would have thought of that. Of course I'd never flown before where I was sneaking out of the country without my parents' knowledge. It wouldn't matter to them that I was eighteen and legally an adult. They'd still try to use whatever leverage they could to get me to adhere to their wishes.

I dug through the items in my backpack until I found my iPod and Sudoku puzzle book and pen. I sat them on the seat and stood to put my bag in the overheard compartment. After trying to stuff it in the small space with no luck in one direction, I pulled on it to get it loose from the position it was stuck in and tried a different angle.

I was still trying, unsuccessfully I might add, to maneuver it into the undersized space when I was startled by a smooth velvet voice saying to me, "Here, let me help you with that."

Large hands with long slender fingers reached up to grab my bag. When his hand touched mine a jolt of energy shot through me, causing me to jump and the sudden movement sent my sunglasses tumbling from the top of my head to the floor.

"Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized.

"It's…um…okay," I replied. I stood there staring at him somewhat dazed and slightly stunned by my reaction to his touch.

I shook my head briefly to clear it from the fog I felt like I was in and bent to pick up my glasses not realizing he was already in the process of doing the same thing. Before either of us had time to react, the back of his head was colliding with my chin and I found myself falling backwards and landing on the floor of the plane. My hand immediately went to the spot where the two had connected and I rubbed it, trying to ease the dull throbbing sensation that was occurring.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" the stranger asked.

I looked up at him and saw him rubbing the back of his head and staring down at me. I couldn't help but notice he was probably the most handsome man I had ever seen. Judging by the look of sincere remorse on his face he knew how to behave like a man too. If this had happened with one of the pimple faced, squirrely immature high school boys I constantly refused to date back home, they'd be instantly spewing some lame line about how I needed to watch what I was doing. But instead he was concerned about whether or not I was okay.

"Yeah, I think so," I relied softly.

If I had to guess I'd say he was anywhere from three to five years older than me. Looking at him a whole slew of adjectives began racing through my mind trying to pick one that did him justice. Handsome really didn't even begin to cover it. Everything from sexy, hot, pretty…_Could you even classify a man as pretty_? Even gorgeous just didn't seem to fit.

His facial features made him handsome, but they were also warm and kind. I took them all in as I kept my eyes glued on him. His skin had a warm golden tone to it like he had spent some time in the sun, and then there were the soft laugh lines around his eyes and the long lashes that framed them. Not to mention the light layer of stubble that was scattered across his cheeks and jaw that gave him just enough of a rough around the edges look to keep him from having a complete pretty boy appearance. I couldn't help wondering what it would be like to run my fingers over it.

On top of all that there was his hair color which was one I had never seen before. It was this unique shade of rusty brown and was tousled as if he'd just gotten out of bed and had forgotten to comb it. I wanted to reach up and run my fingers through it.

_Geez, what was wrong with me? First his stubble and now his hair? I had never had such a hard time resisting the urge to touch someone before._

I could feel the familiar warmth creeping up my neck to my face and instantly knew I was blushing from the realization that he was watching me just as intently as I was him. _Actually warm might have been an understatement 'cause I was sure feeling hot all of a sudden._

However neither of us seemed to be able to pull our gaze off the other. From where I was sitting, I could see that his eyes were a brilliant shade of green and were focused on me in an intense stare as if he was memorizing everything about me. Most people in my life had always seemed to just look around me or past me, like I was nothing or no one; I had never stood out. But he looked at me as if…well almost as if he was having the same thoughts about me as I was him. Like he thought I was beautiful. No one had ever looked at me like that before. It was entrancing, exhilarating and scary all at the same time, causing a wave of goose bumps to cover my skin.

"Excuse me, is everything ok here?" the flight attendant asked, breaking the trance we both had been in.

"Yes. I was just going to help…" He paused and looked down at me, waiting for me to supply him with my name.

"Bella," I replied.

"I was just going to help Bella up. We had a little mishap while trying to get her bag in the overhead compartment. I'm sorry if we disturbed anyone."

"No you didn't bother anyone, but you do need to take your seats. The Captain is about to start the engines and begin our taxi to the runway."

Apparently in all the commotion of us trying to get my bag situated, we had missed the call for everyone to be seated and to buckle their seatbelts. No wonder the attendant had appeared to be annoyed with us.

"Hi, I'm Edward Cullen. Let me help you up," he said as he stepped forward and held his hand out to me.

Grasping his hand and allowing him to pull me off the floor, I felt that same surge of energy pulsating through me as I had when his hand had touched mine before. But all too quickly it was gone when he released my hand due to the crunching, snapping sound of plastic breaking reaching our ears. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had just happened. We both looked down so fast we nearly bumped our heads again in our rush to see the twisted shattered remains of what once were my sunglasses.

"Fuck," I heard him mutter softly.

I saw the flight attendant coming up the aisle toward us again and had this sudden fear she might throw me off the plane. That was the last thing I wanted and it caused me to blurt out, "Um, don't worry about it. You better find your seat, here she comes again."

I nodded in the direction behind him and turned to give my backpack a hard shove, which finally got it into the space provided. I then picked up my stuff, after nearly sitting on it, and sat down in my seat as fast as possible. To say I was shocked would be an understatement, when after helping the attendant pick up the broken pieces of my glasses and getting ordered by her to find his seat now, Edward sat down next to me.

"You really shouldn't be so worried about her. She doesn't bite ya know," he said in a teasingly sarcastic way.

"Oh, um I'm not afraid of her."

"Are too. I can see how nervous you are. You're about to chew a hole right through your bottom lip." He paused for a minute and then got this devilish grin on his face. "Oh, you aren't one of those teen runaways or a fugitive are you?" He stopped again and snorted as he looked over his shoulder and glanced around like he was a spy about to make some top secret discovery about me. It was actually quite funny and I might have laughed if I didn't really have something to hide. Even if what I was doing was completely legal and within my rights to do so—well aside from the fake last name I was using—I still feared my parents showing up at the last minute and having me removed from the plane.

Edward leaned closer to me. So close I could feel his warm breath on my ear. "You know like a modern day Bonnie without her Clyde?" he said with his breath fanning across my neck and causing sensations in me I had never felt before.

"Um, what? Are you crazy? I think you should find your real seat," I told him. He had some sense of humor, and I imagined he could be quite a great source of entertainment on the flight. But I was exhausted and wanted to sleep. Plus I knew if I were him, I wouldn't want to go through the embarrassment of having to get up and move in front of everyone if the attendant realized I wasn't in the seat I was supposed to be in. And with the evil glare the attendant had given us the last time she told us to sit I was certain she would not be nice at all if she had to tell him he was in the wrong seat.

"What? Don't you want me sitting here? Is someone else sitting here? Or are you afraid your boyfriend back home will be upset over you sitting next to another guy?"

"Oh. Um…there's no boyfriend. I only thought—"

"No worries, Bright Eyes," he said with a smirk turning up one corner of his mouth, forming the sexiest lopsided grin I'd ever seen. Then with his smile growing impossibly wider he held up his boarding pass for me to see and said, "This _is_ my seat."

I knew I must have turned several shades of red so I just nodded quickly and turned to look out the window. I had never been so happy to have a window seat in all my life.

Over the next several minutes we both remained silent as the plane made its way down the runway and its accent into the air. Despite the fact neither of us said anything it appeared as though we were both sneaking peeks at one another.

Eventually after catching each other a few times, we both busted out laughing.

"So tell me, Bright Eyes," he said as he turned to face me. _Wait, what did he just call me? _His eyes were dancing with curiosity and that same smile was twitching on the edge of his lips. _God how does one man have so much charm_, I thought.

I was so dazzled I almost didn't hear the next thing he said. "How does a guy go about finding out which part of the island you are staying on so he can offer his apologies and replace your glasses?

I was just about to respond and tell him it wasn't necessary when he added, "Even though eyes as bright and pretty as yours have no business hiding behind anything."

_Now how the hell was I supposed to respond to that?_

***{Edward}***

Her eyes grew wide as she contemplated how to answer my question. Her breathing sped up and she was blushing again. The warm pink tint that colored her cheeks was beautiful. This really caught me off guard since I had never paid much attention to someone blushing before, let alone the fact that I thought it was beautiful. But it was—_she_ was and there was just no denying it.

She must have been aware of her reaction because she tilted her head forward, allowing her long hair, that even pulled back in a ponytail, fell perfectly to form a cover on the side of her face and blocked it from my view. I wanted to reach over and brush her hair back so I could see her, but I somehow resisted thinking it would probably freak her out.

"Um," she said hesitantly as she glanced up at me sideways while pulling her ponytail around to her other shoulder, giving me a clear view of her pretty face again. "I…uh…don't mean to be rude and I appreciate your help with my bag, but…um I'm not really comfortable telling you where I'm staying. I mean, it's just that I don't really know you."

I nodded in understanding, and I guess when I thought about what she was saying I really did understand what she meant. There were a lot of nut-jobs in the world we lived in and you heard on the news all kinds of stories about girls and young women disappearing while on vacation. So I really couldn't blame her for not wanting to tell me.

Only for some reason I couldn't let it go. It wasn't so much about where she was staying or even about replacing her sunglasses, although I did feel as if I should; it was about her. I wanted to know more about her and I couldn't even explain why. I usually didn't even flirt with a girl I had just met, which made the instant attraction I felt for her a bit shocking to me. I'd always tried to get to know them first. Some girls might take flirting from a stranger the wrong way and would be put off, but for some reason not only had I openly flirted with this girl, I was asking where she was staying.

I knew she was going to the same place as I was since it was a direct flight. In fact I was even more curious as to why she was going there. From what my dad had said when we last spoke, there was a good portion of the northern side of the island that was uninhabitable right now due to the hurricane. He had said that the whole northern coast took a direct hit as the hurricane skirted along its coast before heading back out to sea. And since we were landing in an airport on the southern coast I was really curious as to where she was going on the island. Surely if she had a vacation planned for the area that had been damaged she would be aware of the conditions there and would have canceled. _Wouldn't she?_

I made a mental note to ask her about it after I told her a bit about myself. Maybe if we talked a little and she felt more comfortable she would tell me where she was staying or at least what part of the island she was going to. At least that way if she wasn't aware of the hurricane damage, I could help her make sure she either got a flight back to the states or help her find a way to arrange accommodations on the southern half of the island where she could vacation. _Hell, if I had to I'd stay with her and personally make the arrangements myself._

"Shit," I mumbled so softly I thought no one had heard me. _Now where had that thought come from?_ _Make the arrangements myself?_

"I'm sorry did you say something?" Bright Eyes—err—Bella asked.

I looked at her and noticed again how beautiful her eyes were. So warm, expressive and bright I could gaze into them for hours. They say the eyes are the window to a person's soul and if that was true, she had to be a truly remarkable girl.

"Oh I was just talking to myself."

"Do you do that often?" she asked with her eyebrow raised in a curious manner as she waited for my reply.

"No. But it is the only way to be sure you get the answers you want," I told her and returned the smile she gave to my response. She then turned her head and began staring out the small window, but she still had a slight smile on her face. I knew I had better get talking fast or the silence between us would become too much and trying to talk might become awkward. Not to mention this was only a two hour flight.

"So," I said trying to regain her attention.

"So," she repeated before she placed her elbow on the armrest of her seat and planted her chin in her hand. She then turned her focus back to the window.

"Have you ever been to The Dominican before?"

Instead of a simple yes, no or even a 'that's none of your business', she returned my question with one of her own. "How do you know that's where I'm going?"

"It's a direct flight. That's where we're all going, Bright Eyes."

With the statement my thoughts again turned to why she was going there. I had recognized a few of the other faces on the plane as I searched for my seat. I couldn't put names with the faces but they were familiar enough that I knew they were going to help out with the relief work. I had been helping my parents wherever they were each summer long enough to know that there were others who spent their entire summers doing the same thing I did. Some were doctors and nurses like my parents and others were teachers who had the summer off, or just your everyday people who wanted to give their help anyway they could. Didn't really matter who they were, it was what they were doing that was important.

Funny thing was, the more I looked at Bella, there was something familiar about her too. Like I had seen her face somewhere before. She was younger than me, but not by more than three years or so. Maybe she had visited my college's campus. There had been several tours go through towards the end of the year, or perhaps she had volunteered somewhere before and I had caught a glimpse of her then. I couldn't pinpoint it so this made me even more anxious to find out more about her.

"Okay. So we're all going to the same island. Again, I'm really not trying to be rude, but like I said, I'm just not comfortable telling you where I'm staying."

Yet again as she repeated what she'd said a few minutes ago, I couldn't let it go. "Well, how 'bout I tell you about me and maybe that will help." She didn't say yes, but didn't say no either. She only sort of shrugged indifferently, so I began to tell her a little about me hoping it would ease her mind a bit. "I just finished my four years of pre-med and this fall I'll be starting med school. My dad is a doctor and I've wanted to follow in his footsteps for as long as I can remember."

She didn't reply but I took it as she was waiting for me to continue so I went on telling her how my mom was a nurse and how my parents worked together alongside agencies such as Doctors without Borders, The Red Cross and others that assisted those in the most need of care, and how for the last several years I had spent my summers with them helping out wherever they were in any way I could. I also told her how seeing the difference they made in people's lives only instilled my drive and desire to become a doctor even more, and how I hoped to one day make a difference the way my parents had.

"Where do you go to college?" I asked.

A few moments went by and there was no reply from her. "Brigh—," I stopped myself thinking since she didn't want to tell me where she was staying, it might seem weird to her that some random guy she just met had tagged her with a nickname. "Bella, are you in college? What are you studying?"

I leaned forward and got a closer glimpse of her face and saw that she had fallen asleep. I wondered how much she had heard and if I had bored her with my ramblings about myself so much that she had fallen asleep, or if she had already been so tired she hadn't been able stay awake.

Standing, I got out my Hopkins medical magazine from my carry on and after sitting back down I began to skim through it, looking for something to catch my eye. After not finding anything, and yawning a few times, I leaned forward and slid the magazine into the seat pocket in front of me and then sat back while trying to relax. Letting my head fall back against the seatback, I closed my eyes, hoping to catch a quick nap until we landed. My roommate and best friend Emmett had been offering for the past two years for me to stay with him at his family's vacation home in the keys. However the location of my summer plans hadn't made it possible before, but this year knowing I was going to the DR and would be flying out of Miami, I had agreed to go with him for a few days. We'd flown down to Miami three days ago to see the "sights" as he had put it, and he had kept me out late each night. And true to his word, he'd done just that. I had seen the inside of more clubs, half naked bodies of bikini clad women and had consumed more alcohol in those three days than I had in my entire life. Don't get me wrong, it was fun to let loose and I'd had a blast with him, but I was paying for it now by being exhausted and still fighting some lingering after affects.

I didn't know how much time had gone by, but I was just about to doze off when I felt a light thud on my arm near my shoulder. Turning my head to the right and looking down I saw that Bella had shifted in her seat as she slept and her head was now resting on my arm.

Unable to tear my eyes off of her, I took in everything about her. She was incredibly pretty and in a completely natural way. She wasn't all made up to be something other than what her natural features gave her.

First thing I noticed was her eyelashes as they rested against her skin. The contrast between her dark lashes and the lighter tone of her skin had caught my attention and then I saw they were long full and slightly curved at the ends. She had a light smattering of freckles and a bit of a pink tint across the bridge of her nose and apples of her cheeks. It appeared as though she had recently spent some time in the sun. Not only did her face have a touch of sun warm glow to it in addition to the hint of pink, but her arms and legs had a warm golden color to them which was too natural looking to be one of those tans that come out of a bottle, or spray-on tan places. From there my eyes traveled to her plump pink lips and I wondered what it'd be like to kiss them as my eyes then wandered over the rest of her small frame.

She was small, but had soft curves in all the right places. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes to clear the thoughts that began to fill my head while looking at her. Forcing my gaze back to the relaxed expression on her face, I was again stuck with the notion that I had seen her somewhere before. But I shook it off if for no other reason than the fact that she was tanned said there was no way she had been in Baltimore recently. The only reason I had begun to tan was due to spending the last three days in Miami. This spring had been cooler than normal so if she by some chance had been up north, I doubted that she'd have been lying out in the sun.

Watching her sleep I found myself willing her to wake up so she would open her eyes and I could see them again. It was strange to feel this attraction or whatever it was I had for her. I'd had girlfriends before, not many, but a few, and I had never been inclined to watch them sleep. Heck if I was around and they were sleeping that usually meant I was sleeping too. And having sleepovers was not something I did often.

For a few minutes I allowed myself to hope that maybe she was going to volunteer too. It would be nice to have someone close to my own age to talk to when there was time. You didn't find many in my age group looking to spend their summers helping out those whose lives had been destroyed by natural disasters, political unrest, or famine and poverty. I had asked Emmett to give it a shot a handful of times over the last two years we'd been sharing an apartment just off campus, but he had always turned me down. But I knew it wasn't for everyone so I never held it against him.

The thing was, as nice as it would be to have someone to talk to and hang out with for the summer when there was time, I was also attracted to her and that was the part that worried me. At the end of the summer I'd be headed back to Baltimore and she'd be headed back to Miami or wherever. Because of that, no matter what kind of attraction either of us might have for one another, it could never go beyond a platonic relationship. If by some chance she was volunteering for the summer, we'd be friends and then say our goodbyes come August. Resolving to hold myself to the conclusion I'd just come to, I closed my eyes one last time hoping to get some rest before the long days and hard work began.

* * *

Life is a bit busy these days so I will be updating every other Friday in order to make sure I can keep up with life and my writing.

As always there will be pictures posted on my blog to go with several of the chapters and under the page titled _**Somewhere I Belong**_ you can find pictures of all the characters as they appear in the story. Don't worry if you don't see one of your favorite characters there yet, I am adding them as they make their appearance in the story. You can also see the amazing banner that **EmilyMarie15 **made for me.

Teasers will be posted on the blog on every other Monday. So the first teaser will go up on Monday the 23rd, followed with the next chapter on Friday the 27th. The blog link is on my profile page.

If you aren't already doing so, you need to hurry on over to **My-Bella's** profile page and check out the story we are currently working on together. _**Beneath the Surface **_is amazing and has an Edward like none I've ever seen!

Thanks so much for coming along with me on this journey. I can't wait to see what you think.

EA


	2. Never Thought I'd See You Here

Happy Friday, Everyone. Thank you for all the great responses to chapter one, it was great to see so many familiar names as well as some new ones too. Some of you have been with me through all of my stories and I can't tell you how awesome that makes me feel.

My undying thanks to My-Bella and Hope4More. I would be lost without them.

Here's chapter two, see you at the bottom!

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. __**Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. _**No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization.**_

* * *

**June 4****th****, 2011 continued**

***{Bella}***

"Miss. Miss." I heard a voice talking though I wasn't sure who it was speaking to until I felt a hand on my arm, shaking it lightly. I opened one eye just enough that I could peek through it and see the stewardess from earlier standing near me.

Scrubbing my eyes with the pad of my hand I slowly pulled myself into a more upright position in my seat. I squinted for a second until I was able to focus my gaze on the flight attendant.

Smiling she said, "We'll be landing soon. You need to fasten your seatbelt."

I nodded and reached down to grab the two sides of the belt. It then occurred to me there was no one in the space next to me and I wondered if maybe Edward had been lying to me about his assigned seat and if he'd been forced to move at some point during the flight while I'd been sleeping.

However I wasn't left to wonder for long because as I looked up at the front of the plane I saw him coming down the aisle towards me.

Plopping down next to me he flashed me a wide smile. "Sleeping Beauty has awak—"

His words stopped abruptly at the same time his smile disappeared and his lips twisted into a frown. I was so lost in his expression, trying to figure out why it had changed so suddenly; I hadn't even noticed he'd moved until I felt his hand gently touching my chin.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"For what?" I asked softly, still lost in his eyes. They were such an amazing shade of green I didn't really know how to describe them.

"For this," he replied as his thumb skimmed lightly over the area just below my chin. Pressing gently he then asked, "Does it hurt?"

Unable to fight my natural reflexes, I flinched slightly and pulled away from his touch.

"That's what I thought," he said with a sigh.

"Look, it's really not a big deal. It was an accident. It's not like you meant to do it. It was my fault anyways."

"So let me get this straight. I hit you with my head, bruising you and you're blaming yourself. Why is that?" His brows furrowed as the look of confusion took over his features in anticipation of my answer.

"Because I tend to be clumsy and because I bruise easily. Those things are totally out of your control," I informed him.

Before he could say anything else, I muttered the word 'shit' under my breath and gripped the arm rests of my seat while pressing myself firmly into the seatback as if the plane were doing a nose dive into the ocean instead of a making routine landing.

"Are you okay?" he asked, taking notice of my reaction.

"I…hate…landings," I groaned, feeling the plane's descent and my stomach doing somersaults faster than an Olympic gymnast.

"Is this your first time flying?" There was an air of amusement in his voice.

"No."

"Second?"

"No."

"Third?"

"No," I told him again, but this time I felt a smile spreading across my face even though my eyes were still squeezed tightly shut.

"It's safe to open your eyes again."

I let out a sigh of relief and slowly opened my eyes one at a time, finding his head turned in my direction, resting on the back of his seat with his eyes boring into mine as if they had been waiting for the precise moment mine would open. The feeling was intense, like there was this energy flowing between us. It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before.

However before I had a chance to dwell on it, the mood was broken when the sign indicating we could remove our seatbelts began to chime and flash simultaneously. Next a symphony of clicks moved through the cabin as the other passengers unfastened their belts and began to stand, ready to exit the plane.

Edward stood up and pulled both our backpacks from the overhead compartment and handed me mine.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Eager to begin my summer adventure I swung the bag over my shoulder, moved around him, and headed down the aisle toward the exit door.

A few minutes later I was just about to exit the jetway when I heard my name being called out from behind me. Slowing and glancing over my shoulder, I saw Edward jogging up to me.

I stepped off the jetway and over to the side to wait for him to catch up to me so I wouldn't block the traffic flow of the other passengers as they exited.

"Hey," he gasped as he sucked in a gulp of air to catch his breath. "Um, I was wondering if you'd humor me and do me a favor?"

"I don't really have a lot of time. What did you need?" I asked completely baffled by what, if anything, I could do for him.

"Ease my guilty conscience," he replied with a sheepish smile.

"What on Earth are you talking about?" I was becoming more confused by the second.

"Look, my dad is picking me up here. I mentioned on the plane that he's a doctor but I think you might have already fallen asleep and not heard me. You have a bit of a knot under that bruise on your chin and I'd just feel a whole lot better if you had it looked at."

"That's…" I paused trying to figure out what to say so that I wouldn't hurt his feelings. While his concern was unnecessary, it was nice and I didn't want to be rude. "That's really sweet of you. I appreciate your concern, but I can promise you it's not the first bump or bruise I've ever had and I'm certain it won't be the last. It was an accident. There's really no reason for you to have a guilty conscience about it."

I began to look around for the luggage claim area and once I spotted it I turned to head in that direction.

However Edward didn't seem to want to give up. "Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"

"No. Besides even if I wanted to, I have to be at a certain place in the airport to meet my group or I will miss them. I really don't have time."

"Please," he pleaded. "I've never seen someone bruise so easily before and well…It would really just make me feel better. It's the least I can do given you lost your sunglasses courtesy of my big foot and got hurt too."

"Again I appreciate it. But I can't. I really don't have time. Thanks again for your help with my backpack, but I have to go."

I scanned the terminal quickly again and located the sign for the baggage claim and began walking in that direction. I'd barely taken ten steps when I noticed Edward walking beside me.

"Are you following me?"

"No. I do have baggage to pick up too."

"Oh. Right," I said feeling my face warm in my embarrassment.

Neither of us said another word as we walked to the baggage claim carousel. Standing next to each other, we both remained silent as bag after bag went past us before I finally spotted mine.

Grabbing the suitcase I turned to leave when Edward caught my hand and asked, "What if I promised to make sure you got to where you were going even if you missed your group?"

"You'd do that?"

"Yes."

I let out a long sigh. "I can see that this is really bothering you and I wish I could stick around and let your father check me out just to ease your worries. But I really can't."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Thanks again for your help."

I raised my hand and gave him a quick wave goodbye. He smiled and waved back before grabbing his own suitcase and leaving with a look of reluctance on his face. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I set off to find the volunteer group.

***{SIB}***

I didn't know what had happened—if I'd read the map wrong, looked at it backwards, if it had been printed backwards or what—but somehow in my rush I'd gone to the complete opposite end of the airport terminal and was now trying to do something that resembled an awkward power walk while dragging my suitcase behind me in my effort to hurry to the other side.

When I'd finally reached the area where I was supposed to meet up with the group from the Red Cross, I stopped and looked around for the sign identifying them. I found them next to the escalators, which was right where the information packet I'd been sent had said they'd be. Relieved, I adjusted the strap of my backpack on my shoulder and made my way over to the group.

As I neared them, I saw two men standing side by side talking, one slightly taller than the other, and another group of about twenty a few feet away from them talking as well. One of the two men must have been the man in charge since he was holding a stack of papers that I assumed were our information sheets with our required pictures attached for identification purposes.

He had apparently noticed me too because he glanced down at the papers and then back to me before saying something to the taller man next to him. After that both of them had their gaze fixed on me as I approached them.

"Isabella Hale?" the gentleman with the papers asked.

"Yes."

"Peter Wilson, and this is Carlisle Cullen. It's nice to meet you," he replied, holding his hand out for me to shake.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Wilson. I'm so sorry I'm late. I got a little turned around in the airport."

"Please call me Peter and it's quite alright," he assured me. "It happens frequently in our line of work." He then turned to face the group of people standing next to him and said, "Okay, folks, our last volunteer has arrived, so if everyone is ready it's time to get going."

There were a few soft replies of "let's go" or "I'm ready" as everyone picked up their belongings to follow him up the escalator.

As I waited for my turn to step onto the moving stairs, I was shocked to find myself suddenly staring at the last person I'd ever expected to see again.

"What the…this is…okay you're starting to really freak me out now," I sputtered. "You really need to let this go and not follow me anymore."

I turned to step onto the escalator when he caught my hand and pulled me back, causing a few of the other volunteers to give us curious glances.

"What the hell?" I asked him, jerking my hand out of his grasp.

He was just standing there shaking his head and chuckling which was really starting to piss me off. I couldn't figure out what he thought was so funny about following a girl he'd only barely met.

"I'm sorry," he said while trying to wipe the smirk off his face. But he was failing miserably and the corners of his mouth were twitching to remain smiling. "I'm not following you."

"You're not? Then what the heck do you call it?"

Before he could answer the man who'd been with Mr. Wilson and whose name had escaped me was standing next to Edward.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked.

"This—" I started to tell him how I thought Edward was stalking me before Edward rudely cut me off.

"Dad, this is the girl I told you about from the plane. I had no idea she was one of this summer's volunteers."

Looking back and forth the between the two of them stunned by what I'd just heard, I managed to get out. "Did you...Did you just call him—"

Brother, I might have been inclined to believe. Father, no way. The man standing before me barely looked more than a few years older than Edward, let alone old enough to be his father. But as I continued to look back and forth between the two of them I could see some similarities in their features.

"Yes. This is my father, Carlisle Cullen." He had that damn smirk on his face again and the scary thing was I found myself wanting to smile back at him. Apparently I was going to be seeing a lot of him this summer.

"I was sorry to hear of your injury," Mr. Cullen said, interrupting the staring contest Edward and I were engaged in. "And I'd be happy to look at it for you, as Edward voiced some concern when he told me about your run in. But perhaps we can sort this out further on the way to our headquarters," he suggested and motioned for us to get moving.

I was acutely aware of Edward's eyes on me the entire walk to the parking garage. I didn't know how I knew for sure since I never turned around to look at him. I just felt it and I was also able to feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing and a strange tingling sensation coursing through me as a result. But I didn't understand why he was staring at me. Did he really think I needed to have my chin looked at that badly or was it something else? And if it was something else, then what? I was clueless.

Once outside, I took a deep breath and tried to calm the nervous jitters threatening to unhinge me. The air in the parking garage was warm and humid much like it had been back in Miami, although it was even more humid here than it was there.

I heard a loud screeching noise to my left. Waiting off to the side of the garage was a large bus similar to a school bus, but it was painted all white with the American Red Cross logo on the side of it instead of the familiar yellow of those used to transport students.

"Over this way, everyone. This is our ride to headquarters," Mr. Wilson called as he waved his hand in the direction of the bus.

I followed the other volunteers as we all climbed onto the bus. I headed straight for the back in hopes of having a last little bit of time to myself before arriving at the camp and getting to work with whatever was thrown my way.

The seating consisted of two long rows of seats with a long single bench seat spreading across the back wall of the bus. Choosing the wide expanse of the back seat, I slid my suitcase on the floor under the seat and sat down next to the window. Knowing this would probably be the last opportunity I had to use it, I plugged my iPod earbuds back into my ears and picked one of my favorite playlists to listen to before gazing out the window.

I guesstimated about fifteen minutes had gone by based on the number of songs I had listened to, when I felt as though I was being watched again. Looking to my right I saw Edward and his father talking, while Edward kept glancing around his father to look at me. I couldn't make out what he was saying with my music playing, but it appeared as though he was trying to talk his father into something.

I couldn't shake the feeling it had to do with me. Pausing the music, I pulled one of my earbuds out and met Edward's gaze.

"What's up with you?" I asked him.

Instead of Edward answering, his father turned and replied, "My son was just trying to convince me to take a look at your bruise now."

Looking back at Edward I asked, "You're not going to let this go are you?"

"No."

"Fine," I huffed.

Mr. Cullen moved across the aisle and sat down next to me. I couldn't resist asking him, "Has your son ever been arrested for stalking?" It caused him to burst out laughing.

A few minutes later, after having me move my jaw in every imaginable direction it could, Mr. Cullen said, "Well, Miss Hale, it seems you simply have a nasty bruise."

"I tried to tell him that," I said while pointing at Edward.

"Well he can be a bit hardheaded at times," he replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, tell me about it," I said rubbing my chin for added affect. "Thank you, Mr. Cullen…Or should I call you Dr. Cullen?"

"How about Carlisle? We all tend to go on a first name basis pretty much."

"Only if you call me Bella."

"It's a deal," he said, getting up and returning to his seat.

The seat next to me didn't remain empty for long though as Edward was soon occupying the space.

"Stalker," I mumbled before turning my face towards the window, hiding my smile. I may not have understood his need to shower me with all the attention he was, but I also couldn't deny I was enjoying it.

"I'm not a stalker," he whisper-yelled.

I snorted. "Sure could have fooled me."

"I was simply trying to be the gentleman I was raised to be."

"Your father really doesn't look like the type to go around teaching his son to stalk an unsuspecting young woman he just met on an airplane."

"How was I to know that we were both coming here for the same reason? I was just as surprised to see you as you were me."

"You could have asked," I told him.

"I did," he declared.

"When?"

"On the plane."

"Did not."

"I most certainly did. You refused to tell me."

"You must be imagining things now."

"Then maybe I also imagined you telling me something along the lines of how you weren't trying to be rude, but you weren't comfortable telling me where you were going." He had that smile of his turned up all the way again, shining as bright as the sun in the sky. _How the hell was I supposed to resist that?_

***{Edward}***

"Well?" I asked her when she didn't respond to my last statement.

"Well what?" she returned and I could see her fighting the urge to smile. She may not have realized it but I could see her reflection perfectly in the window and could see her lips twitching along with her jaw flexing in her determination to keep from giving in to the urge.

Leaning closer to her, I whispered, "You know you said it. Are you brave enough to admit it? Or are you a chicken shit?"

I sat back and watched for her reaction. It was almost instant. A wide smile spread across her face and lit it up.

She released a long sigh of fake annoyance which was obvious since she could hardly wipe her smile away. "Okay so _maybe _I might have said something like that."

"Maybe?"

"Yeah, maybe. It's…vaguely familiar." She sat back and crossed her arms loosely over her chest and shrugged her shoulders.

"So stubborn. Why can't you just admit that you said it?"

"And miss all this fun of annoying you? Nah, I like my way better."

"Whatever," I told her rolling my eyes.

"Aw, now don't pout."

"I'm not pouting."

"Are to."

"Not."

"What's the matter? Too chicken shit to admit it?" she whispered with a mischievous grin on her face as she threw my own words back at me.

"Okay, how about a compromise?"

"I'm listening," she replied nonchalantly.

"I'll admit I was pouting if you'll admit what you said on the plane." I quirked an eyebrow at her, silently challenging her as I waited to see what she would do.

"Ha! Gotcha!" she cheered.

"What?"

"You admitted you were pouting." She giggled while poking me in the arm.

"I did no such thing."

"But you did."

"No, I said I'd admit it if you did."

"Well that's good enough if you ask me. I mean saying you would is just as good in my opinion."

"How do you figure?"

"Because if you hadn't done it in the first place why would you even be willing to admit it? So therefore it's just as good if you ask me."

She looked up at me. Her cheeks were flushed and I guess it could have been from the warmth of the climate, but I chose to believe it was more from excitement. Especially since her eyes were sparkling with the glee of her self-proclaimed victory.

I decided that I'd let her have this round. She was right and I knew it, but more than that I had a feeling getting even at a later date would be even more fun than trying to get her to give in now. This girl was absolutely amazing and I loved the way she stood her ground, her spunky attitude and how she was completely unafraid to challenge me. However even though I was conceding this time and letting her win, I wanted to make sure there was no doubt in her mind that she wasn't being let completely off the hook.

Moving in closer to her until I was hovering just a few inches away from her face as she continued gazing up at me, I softly told her, "Fine. I'll let you win this time. But there is a whole lot of summer ahead of us. Mark my words, Ms. Hale, I will get you to admit what you said on the plane one way or another."

Neither of us moved; our eyes held steady on one another. A few strands of her hair had come loose from her ponytail and were blowing in the breeze coming in from the window. I was struck again by how beautiful she was. And not only was she beautiful, but it was in a completely natural way. She wasn't buried under a layer of makeup so thick you could scrape it off with a putty knife like most of the girls I was used to encountering back at school or even the few that volunteered on occasion.

Without even realizing what I was doing until it was already done, my hand brushed the hair back out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. The color on her cheeks deepened a little but her gaze never faltered from mine as she peered up at me through her long eyelashes. It was such an innocent act that was so incredibly sexy at the same time and she probably didn't even know it.

Inside I was warring with the thoughts I'd had earlier about how if by some miracle she was in our group this summer that we'd just be friends, and the ones I was having now about wanting to kiss her. Unable to help myself and fight the pull I felt towards her, I glanced down quickly at her lips just in time to see her small pink tongue darting out to moisten them. _Was she thinking the same thing I was? Did she want me to kiss her? _

Swallowing nervously, I leaned a little closer. Her eyes began to close as if she was anticipating the kiss. _At least I hoped that's why they closed_. Our lips were so close I could feel her warm breath on mine when out of nowhere the bus suddenly lurched and instead of kissing, our heads ended up bumping together again.

"Ow," she murmured, the moment is instantly gone.

"I'm sorry," I said softly, scooting back over and slumping against the seat, feeling like a complete idiot.

This had to stop. If this poor girl got another bruise because of me she wasn't going to want to be anywhere near me. She would run as far away from me as fast as she could. And despite my earlier reservations I somehow knew I wouldn't be very happy if that were to happen. I'd barely known her for all of four hours and so far everything about her pulled me in and a part of me wondered if maybe I shouldn't fight it. Of course the other part of me saw all the complications that could arise from not resisting it. The biggest one being, what would happen at the end of the summer? Would we both go our separate ways never to speak again? _Jesus I was starting to sound like a girl._

"It's okay." She then put her earbuds in her ears again and looked back out the window.

I really hoped that was truly how she felt, because as she looked away, I didn't know if she was turning away from me in regret, embarrassment or some combination of the two, or possibly even relief. I could only hope that she was as disappointed as I was that I hadn't been able to kiss her. But being so unsure, I didn't want to press the issue right now. Instead I reached across the seat and pulled my backpack over to dig out my own iPod and let her be for now.

I found what I wanted to listen to. Just before I closed my eyes to get lost in the music, I caught a glimpse of my father looking at me. It was obvious he had seen what had nearly happened between Bella and me because his eyebrow was raised nearly to his hairline, silently questioning me about what the hell I was doing. It was the same look I had seen time and time again while growing up. Shaking my head at him, I knew I'd have to answer him later, but at least for now I could avoid having to try and explain myself. _Which was a good thing since I was just as confused as he was._

With his reaction and my own doubts, the thought that maybe it was for the best that I hadn't been able to kiss her had begun to fill my head. It would curtail any complications from arising before the possibility of them even existed.

***{Bella}***

Nearly two warm and muggy hours later our trek from Santo Domingo, where the plane had landed, to the northern coast of the island, which had been hit hard by the hurricane, would be over soon. By my calculations we still had about an hour to go before reaching the coast and I couldn't wait to get off this bus and stretch my legs.

After the battery to my iPod had died about an hour ago, I had between watching the surroundings change from a perfect tropical paradise to a land with increasing signs of the hurricane damage. The further north we'd gone, there were more trees down, signs of flooding, mudslides and some road signs that had been blown over. But this part of the island had mainly suffered from the torrential rains and subsequent flash flooding from the water running off the mountains. The worst would be seen once we reached the area where the storm had actually made landfall.

While watching the changing scenery, I heard a few people chatting about how the international airport on the northern side of the island was still not accepting any international or domestic flights due to the damage it had sustained during the storm. It was receiving helicopters with medical supplies but that was all for at least another week.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Edward was still lost in the music he'd been listening to and could faintly hear some of it from time to time since I'd stopped listening to mine. Although not clear enough to tell what song was playing.

He hadn't said a word to me since our almost kiss and I didn't know what to make of that since he'd been a chatterbox before then. It had left me feeling a bit nervous and on edge. Because of that even after my iPod had gone silent, I had left the earbud in my left ear—the one closest to him—to create the illusion I was still listening to it.

At the time, when he'd been about to kiss me, I'd wanted it. I had never wanted something so badly and been so afraid of it at the same time in my entire life. My heart had been beating so furiously it had felt as though it had been ready to rip through my chest with the anticipation of his lips on mine and I had to admit that the fact that someone like him—as gorgeous as him—wanted to kiss me was thrilling, exciting, and shocking too. I had been completely dazzled and overwhelmed by him.

However when fate intervened and all we had done was bump heads again, I'd had time to pull my head out of the clouds and think much more rationally. I was left totally confused. As much as I wished he had kissed me, sadly the truth was it was probably best that it hadn't happened. That didn't mean I would have been sorry if it had, but now I could see how it might not have been such a good idea.

My gut instincts told me Edward was a good guy. The two of us were just two of less than a hand full of volunteers in our age bracket here to offer assistance. It wasn't something a lot of people our age would think of as a great way to spend their summer. Especially the ones I knew from back home. They'd much rather be on the beach or doing something fun and carefree with their time. And I didn't get the impression that his father was forcing him to be here. But even if he was the best person on the planet it didn't change the fact that I didn't really know him. I'd just barely met him a few hours ago on the plane and the best outcome I could see would be a summer fling that would find me saying goodbye to him come August. I just didn't know if a summer fling was a good idea.

I was jarred from my thoughts when the bus came to a sudden stop. The coast was nowhere in sight so I had no clue what was going on.

Glancing over at Edward to see his reaction, I saw him pulling his earbuds out and I asked, "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure. Let me ask my dad."

I nodded in reply.

Edward had barely stood when Mr. Wilson stood and turned to face all of us on the bus and began to speak.

Edward sat back down as we listened.

"We've run into a bit of a problem," Mr. Wilson told us. "You may not be able to see it from where you are sitting, but there is a large tree that has fallen across the road and is preventing us from going any further."

"So what are we going to do?" one of the volunteers asked.

Mr. Wilson replied, "Our driver is looking over the map now to find us an alternate route. Once he has that determined we will be on our way again."

"Is there an alternate route?" a gentleman near the front asked.

"Yes. We are going to have to backtrack a bit, but we will find an alternate route."

A few minutes later Mr. Wilson announced that the driver had mapped out our new route and the bus began to slowly move again as the driver carefully maneuvered it so he could turn it around and head back in the direction we'd just come from. As he did I saw the huge tree that had been uprooted and had fallen across the road. From the looks of it, the ground had been too saturated and the tree roots lost their hold in the ground causing it to topple over.

Once we were underway again, I went back to staring out the window, watching the scenery. The terrain shifted frequently between rugged highlands, mountain ranges and valleys full of crops interspersed with small villages and some larger more populated areas. Again I noticed the amount of downed trees, standing patches of water and creeks and rivers that had been noticeably fuller and fuller the closer to the coast we'd gotten. This time being on the opposite side of the road, I saw a small building at the foot of a large hill that looked as though it had been flattened, possibly by water rushing down the hillside.

"So," Edward said out of nowhere. I looked up at him and tried to remain calm as I waited to see what he was going to say—if he was going to apologize for nearly kissing me.

I knew I shouldn't really let it bother me, and I still thought it was probably for the best that he hadn't kissed me given the circumstances we were meeting under. But deep down inside I also couldn't deny the fact that I had really wanted him to kiss me and even though it hadn't happened, I didn't want to know if he was grateful that he hadn't. I'd much rather go on thinking that he would have if the bus hadn't hit the bump in the road and that we both would have enjoyed it. Yes ignorance was bliss in this case, I convinced myself.

"Is this your first time volunteering?" he asked.

"Um…yeah," I said, letting out a long whoosh of air, feeling extremely relieved he hadn't said anything about our almost kiss. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well you don't have 'newbie' stamped on your forehead," he said causing me to snicker. "But you do have that wide eyed, not sure what to expect look. Not to mention you didn't have any clue who Peter was."

"How does knowing who Mr. Wilson is have anything to do with the number of times I might have volunteered before?"

"Peter usually tries to keep 'his group' as he calls us together. He's been with the agency for so long and does such an amazing job that they give him that luxury."

"So he gets the best of the volunteers all the time?" I asked. It hardly seemed fair if he was getting the cream of the crop while all the other mission heads got the leftovers.

"No, not necessarily the best. But familiarity breeds efficiency. It helps to know exactly what your crew is capable of and what their strengths and weaknesses are so that you know exactly where to place people, what to have them do to make the relief efforts flow as smoothly as possible. Make sense?"

"Yeah, it does. But I still don't get how that tells you whether or not I've done this before."

His tongue slid out and rolled across his bottom lip a couple of times as a sarcastic smirk spread across his face. "It doesn't but Peter told us while we were waiting for you," he leaned closer and whispered. "Apparently you had quite an impressive application." The smirk on his face grew impossibly wider in his admittance of knowing all along this was my first time doing something like this. He'd been messing with me.

"Ass," I muttered while playfully shoving him away from me. "I guess you're a pro at this huh? Seasoned vet?"

"Actually, I am," he said while still laughing over my reaction to his teasing. With his smile still wide, he didn't seem to be able to resist the chance to tease me some more. "If you wouldn't have fallen asleep in the middle of our conversation back on the plane, you'd know this already."

Any unease leftover from our near kiss earlier had effectively melted away with our playful bantering. Even with the awkwardness gone, I still wanted to be irritated with him for his smug teasing. But as he continued to smile at me it was impossible to do so. He could've probably charmed the pants off the nuns back at St. Maria's with that smile. Instead I just shook my head at him without saying anything.

A short time later when the silence that was lingering between us finally got to me, I caved first to break it up.

"Well?" I asked.

"Well what?" he returned, our conversation mimicking the one we'd had at the start of the bus ride but reversed this time.

"You claim to be such a pro at this volunteer thing, I just pegged you as one to want to brag about it. So are you going to sit there like a bump on a log or are you going to fill my head with all your vast amounts of knowledge?"

I didn't really peg him as one to brag on any accomplishments he might have achieved. In fact I somehow knew he was just the opposite. How I didn't know, I just did. Gut instincts again, I surmised. But he had teased me so I figured a little retribution teasing was in order. Plus, I was really dying to know more about him.

"Like I said, I already told you once. You fell asleep."

Not wanting to seem as though I was begging for the information, I decided to keep the teasing nature of our conversation going with a little play at reverse psychology.

"Fine. Don't tell me then," I said flashing him a smile of my own.

He stared at me, looking a bit perplexed for a minute, like he was trying to figure me out. "You really want to know?" he asked surprised, and somewhat hesitant, almost nervously. _I was dead on about him. He wasn't one to brag on himself._

"That's why I asked," I told him while bumping into him with my shoulder much like he'd done to me a few minutes ago and then turned sideways in my seat and waited for him to start talking.

* * *

Think she'll stay awake this time? I know I would if I were sitting next to Edward.

You can check out pictures of Carlisle and Peter on my blog as well as the other characters that have been introduced in the story so far. Just click on the tab titled _**Somewhere I Belong.**_ There is also a map showing their route across the Dominican Republic.

If you aren't already doing so, you need to hurry on over to **My-Bella's** profile page and check out the story we are currently working on together. _**Beneath the Surface **_is amazing and has an Edward like none I've ever seen!

See you in two weeks with chapter three. Until then, look for the teaser on my blog the Monday before it posts.

Thanks for reading, let me know what ya think.

EA


	3. Cold As Ice

**Good morning and happy Friday, everyone! I hope this chapter finds you all well and happy. **

**My undying thanks to My-Bella and Hope4More for all their help, I truly couldn't do this without them. **

**Okay, when you look at the beginning of this chapter, please don't get frustrated that it's still their first day. Lots of ground to cover getting them a little acquainted with one another. After this chapter time will begin to move faster. **

**Also I want to make it clear that I am in no way at all an expert on humanitarian relief efforts. I've done some research and used what information I could find. Unfortunately there isn't an instruction manual out there to tell you how to set up a camp or to guide you through the process, so I used what I could find to aid me in writing their time in the DR and did the best I could with the rest to make it seem realistic with what I wanted to happen in the story. I hope that I don't offend anyone along the way. Remember this is fiction and while I like to make things as realistic as I can, sometimes using a bit of artistic license is a must. **

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. __**Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. _**No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization.**_

* * *

**Still same day.**

***{Bella}***

As the bus came around a bend in the road, it ended at another highway. We made a left turn and began traveling along a stretch of highway that ran horizontal to the coast. It was amazing to see the contrasts in the scenery based on which side of the bus you choose to look out. To the right of us you would never guess that this country had recently been slammed by a hurricane. There was a spread of open beach with pristine white sands which led to the aquamarine colored waves that lazily caressed it as they gently rolled in. It was a sight that left you wondering how something so beautiful could become a monster storm that could cause destruction beyond imaginable belief.

To the left was what was left of a thriving coastal resort area. There was a stretch of hotels, restaurants, and local specialty shops all with varying degrees of damage. One building appeared as though it had been almost completely destroyed except for the shell of a structure that remained, while one a short distance away might only have a few boarded up windows.

The bus kept going for about another fifteen minutes until we came upon what appeared to be a tent city erected next to a high rise hotel. When the bus came to a stop we were told to bring our things and then where to go.

Stepping off the bus, I first realized how good it felt to be walking again. My legs had become restless due to the cramped leg space while riding on the bus and standing on them now I felt a little wobbly. Second, I looked around to take in my surroundings. There were tents in more sizes than I had ever dreamed there could be, more than I could begin to count, pallets stacked with supplies needing to be unloaded and a flurry of activity going on all around.

My mind was near overload from taking in all that I was seeing, all that Edward had told me about himself and his parents, and from the devastation we had seen as we entered the area that had been hit hardest by the storm system.

Roads partially washed away, huge trees toppled over, mudslides that had buried homes and small businesses—it was all just so overwhelming. I had known I was going into a situation unlike any I had ever been in before and I had seen pictures of the damage on TV. However, some of the scenes were so horrible you wondered how someone would ever recover from such a tremendous loss. It really made what I'd heard in countless news reports during previous coverage of similar natural disasters ring true. How what we saw on TV was never as shocking as what you actually saw by being at the location with the destruction right in front of you.

As soon as my legs felt steady under me, I tried to push the images from my mind and focus on all the questions I had for Edward about everything he'd told me on the bus. Even though I hadn't been able to help it, I still felt really bad for falling asleep on the plane while he had been telling me about himself and his parents.

"So how many years have your parents been doing this and do they ever go home?" I asked Edward.

We were walking across the parking lot of a large hotel that had sustained some moderate to heavy damage during the hurricane, and were now following the others to the area Peter had just directed us to.

Edward had spent the remainder of the ride across the island re-telling me about his parents—his father being a doctor and his mother a nurse— about himself and his own volunteer history and that he'd be entering med school this fall, having just finished up his pre-med requirements. He also filled me in on how his parents had made working for an organization which pairs up doctors and nurses to travel with the Red Cross as their permanent jobs.

"They come home for extended stays during the holidays and a couple of other times during the year," he replied.

I covered my eyes using my hand as a shade against the bright late afternoon sun as I asked my next question. "How did that work when you were younger?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, did they leave you at home with family? A nanny? Or were you homeschooled or something like that and they took you with them?"

"No, no nanny and they definitely didn't leave me with family," he said with a dark chuckle as if there was more to his statement than he was letting me in on.

"I don't understand," I told him. If they didn't do either, I didn't get how they traveled and did so much relief work and fulfilled their parental responsibilities too.

"My parents have only been doing this full time for the past four years. Before then it was only during their vacation time off from their jobs and eventually the entire summer once they had the ability to take that length of time off and not jeopardize their positions at the hospital where they worked. During all of their trips they took me with them."

"That must have been hard on you."

"How so?" he asked curiously.

"Well… I mean didn't you miss out on a lot having to spend your time away from school going with them instead of doing all of the fun things most kids did during their summer vacations and school breaks?"

"I might not have spent those times like most other kids, but I never felt as though I was missing out on anything. I was taught at a very young age to appreciate and be grateful for what I had and to help those who were less fortunate. You never know when it all could vanish and you might just find yourself walking in similar shoes."

"You say that like you are talking from real experiences."

"Not exactly," he said, but before I could ask him what he meant we were at the largest of the tents that had been erected on the parking lot. The tent must have been about twenty feet wide and fifty feet long. It appeared to be the headquarters for our volunteer group although I couldn't be sure since there was a wall of dividers going across the tent near its center and I couldn't tell what was on the other side.

We were about to enter it when I caught the sight of the area where the portable restrooms had been set up, as well as many rows of smaller tents several feet behind it which had clearly become the temporary homes to several of the island's residents.

I stopped next to the entrance and tried to imagine what these people must be feeling. The level of despair they must be going through.

I couldn't.

"I can't even comprehend how they must feel," I whispered to Edward.

"I know. When I talked to my dad yesterday he said that most of them were here due to their homes being washed away by the flooding rains or being buried by the mudslides. Most of them have lost everything but the clothes on their backs."

"But we're going to help them. Right?" I asked as I again shielded my eyes with my hands, so I could see his face as I peered up at him for his answer.

It was hard to read his expression as he squinted against the bright sun, but the heavy somber tone of his voice said it all. "That's why we're here. Let's get inside and see what needs to be done," he told me before nudging me inside where the other volunteers were waiting for our next set of instructions.

Peter came into the tent to join us a minute or two later. We all laughed when he joked for us all to pull up a comfy chair and have a seat when the only place available to sit was on the ground beneath us.

He remained quiet for a few seconds as everyone made their choice to sit or stand and then began to explain things. "I guess I should first start out by introducing a few key members of our staff."

First he reintroduced himself and asked that we all call him Peter, reiterating how we were all working together and being on a first name basis made everyone feel more like we were all on equal footing.

"This lovely lady next to me is my wife, Charlotte, and my assistant director," he told us introducing the pretty, tall blond woman next to him.

He went on as he introduced us to Edward's parents and told us that Carlisle was the head team doctor and Edward's mother, Esme, was the lead nurse. He introduced the remaining five people as another doctor, two nurses and two others whose jobs I didn't catch.

Next he said, "These two young ladies are not really staff members, they are here to work like the rest of you are. This is my daughter, Bree," he announced, while pointing to the dark haired girl standing next to his wife. "She is joining us for the second time this summer along with my niece," he then said, pointing to the girl at his daughter's side. "Tanya is a first timer like a few of you, but we are happy to have an extra pair of hands here to help."

Both girls appeared to be a little younger than me, possibly by a year or two. Bree was about medium height, had long dark hair, and didn't look too thrilled to be here. Especially when he had indicated that this was only her second time volunteering and that she was here to work like the rest of us. Peter's niece, Tanya, resembled her aunt Charlotte a lot which led me to believe that she was related on Mrs. Wilson's side.

After Peter was finished with his introductions he explained that any of the staff members would be happy to answer any questions any of us might have.

"Okay, before I get to our housing arrangements, I need to make you aware of one more person who might as well be an official staff member," Peter stated while glancing around as he looked for someone. I wasn't surprised when his gaze finally stopped on Edward who was standing next to me. "Edward Cullen," he said pointing to Edward and then waving him up there with the rest of them.

I was suddenly very curious as to whether or not Edward would normally be up there with his parents and if so why he hadn't joined them when we had first entered the tent.

"I pointed him out," Peter continued, "because unlike my daughter and niece who are not as well acquainted with this type of work, Edward has been volunteering alongside his parents for many years." He smiled while gesturing to Carlisle and Esme. "Edward is extremely familiar with how these relief efforts work and you can also ask him questions if the rest of us are unavailable. With that being said, any questions before we continue?" he asked.

"Where are we setting up the housing camp?" one of the guys asked.

"That was the next bit of information I was about to explain," Peter stated. "I am sure those of you who have worked with me before or have done any similar volunteer work are aware that tents are our usual housing accommodations."

I looked around and saw several members of our group nodding their heads. Edward was one of them. He then leaned over and whispered something to his father and then came back over next to me.

"However we have been very fortunate this time around. The owners of the hotel you saw as you arrived have very generously offered us a few of their rooms."

Most everyone began to chatter amongst themselves upon hearing this news. I could hear a few of them whispering to one another about how awesome it would be to have a room to retire to at night instead of the hard cots and tents they usually had.

"Not so fast, folks," Peter's voice carried over the voices of the group. "Before anyone gets any preconceived notions or false expectations, let me just clarify exactly what is available to us."

Everyone turned their attention back to Peter, most with very curious expressions on their faces. Others were resigned, as if they knew the reality of the situation that was about to be told.

"Do you know what he's talking about?" I whispered to Edward.

"No," he said glancing from me to the hotel outside the tent. I followed his gaze, turning my head to see what he was looking at and noticed how dark it looked inside the hotel and the fact that several of the windows were boarded up. "But I could guess that those that were excited weren't taking into account there's no electricity."

"Oh," I said softly as it dawned on me what the looks of resignation had meant. They knew.

Clearing his throat, Peter began again. "While the hotel has donated some of their rooms, there is no furniture in most of the rooms, some don't even have carpeting at this time and none of them have electricity as the entire area is still without power."

"So what Peter is saying," Carlisle jumped in to help explain. "You have a more solid roof over your head, but none of the modern conveniences that most of you are used to. While there is running water in the showers and sinks we must caution you against drinking it. It's fine for bathing, but remember that it's cold water only as no electricity means no hot water."

"How many of us will be in each room?" a voice from the back asked.

"My rough guess, based on the number of people we have in our group, is that there will be three or four to a room. I would like to use as few of them as possible," Peter replied. "Okay," he then said looking around at everyone." In addition to the rooms the hotel has offered some other amenities to us as well. They have offered for us to use things like shampoo, soap and a small supply of linens. However since all of you were instructed to bring your own supply of these items, I would prefer that you use your own and only use the hotels if you happen to run out. It is very generous of them to offer these things to us, but it also still costs them for these items and right now I am certain they need to save every penny they can. I would also like to remind you to use any supplies, whether those you brought yourself or get here, sparingly. There is no running to the store to get more like you would do back in the states."

I looked around to see everyone's reaction to Peter's statement and most were simply nodding their heads in understanding.

"Does anyone have anything else at this time?" Peter asked. When no one spoke, he continued. "Fine then while we still have a few hours of daylight left, what I would like for everyone to do is to put your belongings over in the corner by the tent entrance. We have some supplies that arrived today which still need to be unloaded. Once that is completed, we will all meet back here for our evening meal and during that time I will split the group up for our room assignments."

We all did as he asked and then made our way back over to him for further instructions. He asked half of us to go with Carlisle to unload medical supplies and the other half to go with him. I noticed as our group was sort of separating down the middle, I was standing on somewhat of an imaginary line right between the two sides. Before I had time to react and go in either direction with either group, Edward was tugging on my arm and pulling me along with him.

"Come on, Rookie," he said. "Let the pro show you how it's done." He flashed me the same grin that had nearly melted me on the plane as his hand slid down my arm to my hand. My gaze shifted from where his hand was holding mine, to his green eyes that were sparkling with laughter and some other emotion that I couldn't identify.

Unable to resist, I smiled back at him. "Why of course. Lord knows it would be terribly wrong of me to refuse you the opportunity to boost your ego, Mr. Pro."

His smile widened as he pulled me behind him over to where his parents and the other doctor and nurses were.

Maybe it was the long day beginning to wear on me, but I could have sworn I had seen Edward's mother's gaze focus briefly on my and Edward's joined hands before it flitted between myself and Edward and then to her husband as she leaned closer and whispered something to him.

I wasn't sure what to make of the look that came across her face. I couldn't tell if she was annoyed, or if it was one of confusion, concern, or curiousness. But whatever it was it suddenly made me feel awkward and like I was being observed under a microscope.

I loosened my grip on Edward's hand and let my fingers slip from between his. If his mother's gaze hadn't frazzled me enough, the sudden sense of loss I felt once my hand was no longer in contact with his was more than enough to confuse me. I didn't know why I felt that way or why I had this intense urge to reach out and take hold of his hand again. And for a brief second I dared to think that maybe he felt the same way when his head jerked down to watch his fingers twitch like they were itching to hold something or had just dropped something and couldn't believe it.

***{Edward}***

I smiled to myself as the look Bella had had on her face when I called her a rookie passed through my mind again. Teasing her was something I was quickly learning was fun to do. And not only did she not get all huffy and put off by it like most of other the girls I knew would, she gave back as good as she got. Her eyes had lit up brighter than the sun in the sky when she replied back to my comment. I was certain the molten chocolate color they had been earlier now looked as if they had golden flecks in them. They were shining so brightly, making them look more like a swirl of chocolate and caramel. _They were gorgeous._

Knowing I would most likely be helping my father, I pulled Bella along with me so that she would be helping us too. I didn't know why I felt the need to keep her close, but I did. I think part of it was wanting to show her that I really did know what I was talking about, which made her comment about my ego not too far off the mark, but there was something more and I couldn't explain it. I was just about to lead her to the front of the crowd and introduce her to my mother when I felt her hand slip from my grasp. In that instant the strangest sensation came over me. It was as if I missed her hand being in mine. Like I physically felt the loss of the contact between us, but not just in the way that her small hand was gone from mine. It was something else and I couldn't explain it and I wanted to take her hand back in mine and not let go.

My gaze darted down to my now empty hand and then up at her face. Her expression was one of being overwhelmed and confused. _Had my holding her hand bothered her?_ I wondered to myself.

Before I'd even had the chance to think about what I was going to say the words were spilling from my mouth. "Are you okay?"

"Huh," was her response. She was definitely overwhelmed.

"Are you okay?" I asked her again.

She nodded slowly. "Um. Yeah, sorry."

"It's okay." I told her then nodded my head towards my parents and said, "Come on."

We made our way through the small crowd and I couldn't help glancing over my shoulder a time or two to make sure she was still right behind me as we did. Once we reached my parents, my father nodded and smiled at the two of us.

"Edward, Bella. The two of you ready to work?" he asked.

"Yes," we both answered in near perfect harmony causing my dad to laugh.

"Good," he replied with a half smirk on his face that I didn't get the meaning of.

"Where do you want me to start? I thought I could show Bella the ropes," I added.

"Hello, Son," my mother said interjecting herself into the conversation.

"Hi, Mom," I returned as she pulled me into a hug.

"Did you have a good flight?" she asked glancing over at Bella quickly and then back to me.

"Yes I did," I told her while feeling a smile spread across my face.

As if she knew I was thinking of Bella as I smiled, she asked, "Who is this you've brought over with you?"

"Mom, this is Bella. She's a first time volunteer this summer. We met on the plane."

"Hi, Mrs. Cullen," Bella said with a shaky smile.

"Oh please, call me Esme, dear," my mother said reaching up and patting Bella on the arm and giving it a gentle squeeze to try and ease the nervousness that was clear on the pretty brunette's face. "You will have to fill me in later on what led you to volunteer with us. Right now we have work to do."

"Okay," Bella replied softly before looking up to me, as if to silently question me about what we were supposed to do next.

My father led us all around the wall of dividers near the center of the tent. As head doctor and in charge of the medical supplies of our unit, he was in charge of setting up the treatment area. He sent most of our group out under the supervision of the other doctor to bring the supplies in so we could begin setting up a triage clinic where those needing care could be evaluated and treated.

Then he instructed Bella, my mother, myself, and the other nurses stay to inside with him to begin organizing the area and begin putting the supplies where he wanted them as they were brought in.

Bella and I opened boxes of bandages, medical tape, gauze, betadine solution, rubbing alcohol and other sterilizing solutions and items for cleaning and treating cuts and small wounds. My mother and the nurses handled the more delicate items like syringes, IV bags, suture kits and stuff like that. We also set up cots and unpacked boxes of things like rubber gloves, and waste containers used for disposing of the bio-waste supplies that would have to be handled in very strict ways.

The time flew by and once the sun was near setting we had a great start to getting the clinic area ready. We had three separate areas designated for treatments depending on the level of care someone would need. There was more to do tomorrow, but things were organized enough that patients could begin to be seen tomorrow and we would continue working around those that received treatment as best as we could.

While we had worked I had filled Bella in on one thing that was a huge benefit to us. My dad had informed me that we had a helicopter on standby to transport anyone needing emergency care beyond what we were capable here or anyone needing surgery to the other side of the island where their hospitals were fully functional. The southern side of the island had been virtually unscathed by the hurricane and had only suffered some minor flooding on low lying areas due to the heavy rains they had received. It was a short chopper ride down there so we were optimistic about having that advantage.

***{Bella}***

It was nearly dark as I listened to Edward fill me in on some of the details his father had given him yesterday on the phone, and about how this mission was fairly tame compared to some of the ones they had gone on in the past. I was also touched by his commitment when he said that just because it was less serious based on the magnitude of the disaster they were dealing with, didn't make it any less important. It was easy to see just how important helping these people was to him. I felt lucky to be privy to all the information he had as well as all the experience he had in dealing with this type of situation.

We had just finished helping Carlisle get the two small refrigerator units that were strictly for a small supply of blood and medicines that had to be kept cold set up and running on the small gasoline run generators when Peter came around the divider and asked if we were all ready to grab some food and get our room assignments.

We got in line behind the other volunteers and took our canned meal that came with a piece of fruit and a bottle of water. I knew I'd never survive here if I was a picky eater and followed Edward over to a space where we could sit on the grassy floor of the tent.

As everyone sat down to eat I noticed how several of the volunteers seemed to already be separating into small groups. They were chatting and becoming acquainted with one another as they sat together and ate. It left me wondering how the pairing off would go and where it would leave me since I was fairly certain Edward would stay with his parents. I fought a shiver that wanted to surge through me at the thought of possibly rooming with Peter's daughter and niece since the three of us were close in age. I was pretty sure by the looks of disdain I had seen on their faces when Peter had introduced them to us that they weren't here by choice. They had the same look of the spoiled rich girl that I had seen so often back home on the faces of the girls I went to school with.

I scanned the room looking for them and saw them across the tent by Peter's wife. Bree seemed to be forcing herself to eat her food, while Tanya was just staring in the can as if she could will it to turn into a filet mignon. I wanted to stay as far away from the duo as possible. I had come here to get away from their kind this summer and to do something worthwhile with my time. So as I bit into my apple, I said a silent prayer that I didn't get stuck with them.

"I'll be back. I need to use the bathroom," I told Edward as I swallowed the last bite of my apples and stood to go use the portable bathrooms before it was completely dark. It wasn't that I was afraid of the dark I just knew it would be a lot easier to do so now. Besides I was exhausted and once I was wherever it was I would be sleeping, I didn't want to have to trek back down here to use it later.

"Okay," he said while raising his bottle of water to his mouth and finishing it off.

"Want me to take that for you on my way?" I asked, pointing to his trash from his food.

"Sure. Thanks." He smiled and handed me the stuff to get rid of.

After a quick stop at the trash can, I made my way outside of the tent only to realize that the portable restrooms were a bit further away than I had thought. However the call of nature was no longer going to let me put it off. I had to go now.

Dreading what the inside of the small plastic stall would smell like, I took a couple of long deeps breaths before I opened the door and held the last one as I entered the space.

Taking care of business as fast as I could, I was able to hold my breath until just before I exited the stall. Unfortunately that was long enough for me to get a whiff of the stench that filled it. I grabbed one of the packets of hand wipes that were stuffed in a basket attached to the plastic wall and got out gulping for fresh air as I did.

"Ugh," I groaned softly as I sucked in the fresh air.

_Remember, you signed up for this, Bella. You wanted this._ I scolded myself internally.

As I reentered the tent, I heard Peter call out, "Okay, is that everyone? If I've missed anyone, let me know now."

Suddenly feeling as though a giant spotlight had been directed at me I cursed myself for not being able to wait just a little longer before needing to go to the bathroom.

"Um…I'm sorry…I had to uh… use the bathroom. I don't know where to...uh…room yet," I stammered, slightly embarrassed and feeling like I had misbehaved or something and had been singled out.

"Someone likes to be late," I heard muttered lowly off to my side. I hadn't remembered seeing either of the girls at the airport, but that didn't mean they weren't.

"Oh, don't worry, Bella," Peter said reassuringly. "It won't be a problem to put you in with one of the other groups. Now let's see if we have one smaller than the rest."

He began to case the room with his eyes in search of a spot for me. I followed his gaze as he did and was about to cringe when his eyes stopped off to my right. If I'd had any doubts about who the snide comment about me being late had come from, they were washed away quickly when I saw him looking at his daughter. I could have sworn I'd seen her start to shake her head at him trying to sway his mind.

"Well, I suppose you can—" Peter's words were cut off by Edward's mother cutting in and interrupting him.

"She can stay with us. Everyone else has four to a room already and we've only got three."

"Alright then, dilemma solved," Peter sighed. A wave a relief washed over his face as he did. "Now we have a lot of work to do tomorrow so I suggest everyone make their way to their rooms and get as much rest as you can. We will be up at the first sign of dawn so I wouldn't procrastinate if I were you."

Wanting to do exactly as Peter had said, I glanced around for Edward. He was no longer in the spot where we had been sitting before I'd gone to the bathroom; I found him over by the wall of dividers in what looked like a serious conversation with his father. As I stood there trying to decide whether or not to go over to him and see what the room number was so I could go up to it, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I spun slowly to find Esme standing next to me. "The room number is 813. It's not locked due to the lack of electricity so you can go on up if you like."

"Oh, okay. Um…thank you for offering me a spot in your room."

She smiled softly at me and gently squeezed my shoulder. "It's quite alright. We had the space. And besides," she whispered leaning closer to me. "I wouldn't subject anyone to living with those two."

She moved her eyes to indicate Peter's daughter and niece. I couldn't help the soft snort and giggle that escaped me as she smiled even wider and winked at me.

"Yeah, thanks again for that," I told her.

"Now you go on and get some rest. They just brought in a young woman from one of the tents in labor so it will probably be a bit before Carlisle, Edward, or I make it up to the room since Edward has offered to stay and help his father."

"Nothing like hands-on training I suppose," I replied thinking of the fact that Edward was about to begin med school.

"No there really isn't." A loud moan and some words that sounded like curse words in Spanish came from the other side of the tent. "Okay, dear, I really must go."

With that she was off to assist her husband. Edward and his father were no longer in sight, and were busy helping the woman having her baby I guessed as I made my way over to where my stuff was stashed next to Edward's.

I thought briefly back to the look I'd seen on Esme's face when she'd noticed Edward holding my hand and found myself slightly confused by it as I compared it to how nice and sweet she'd just been to me. It had worried me that she'd be annoyed by something as simple as her son holding my hand, but her actions just now made me wonder if I had been overreacting to the whole thing and maybe she was just curious or surprised by it.

Too tired to think any more of it now, I let it go and headed up to the room. Armed with the flashlight I'd brought with me, it didn't take me long to find the room. As I entered it I saw that it had been slightly restored from the damage it had sustained. The walls were freshly painted, with a faint hint of the smell still lingering in the air and the window had been replaced—the stickers on the new glass giving it away.

I picked a spot against the wall across from the window and set my things down. I was so tired from being up late chatting with Alice last night, getting up earlier than I wanted for my flight, and then the rest of the day's events that I argued with myself over whether to shower before crashing on my sleeping bag or just giving in to my fatigue and going straight to sleep.

Finally settling on a compromise with myself, I dug out a wash cloth I had brought with me and wiped myself down as best as I could before changing into a tank top and some soft cotton shorts to sleep in.

After tossing my dirty clothes into the laundry bag I had, I rolled out my sleeping bag onto the plywood covered floor and sat down on it. Digging through my bag, I pulled out my brush and then pulled my suitcase open and found the can of nuts and large bottle of water I'd packed.

I popped a small handful of the nuts into my mouth and pulled the elastic band from my hair. It was too warm to sleep with it loose so after brushing through it I braided it. I then ate a few more nuts and washed them down with a few big gulps of water. I wanted to make them both last as long as I could so I put them away and got out the sheet I had to use as a blanket. I didn't really think I'd need it, but had brought it anyway. I spread it over the top of my sleeping bag and laid down on it.

Sleep didn't come as fast as I'd thought it would. Checking my watch I saw I had been lying there nearly an hour. I was used to being alone a lot so I knew that wasn't an issue. In fact after all of the commotion of the day, the silence was a welcome thing. Thinking maybe it was the warmth and stuffiness of the room I got up and opened the window along with using one of my shoes to prop open the door to the room a few inches. I didn't see what the harm was having it open since none of them locked anyways due to the locks being electronic and I knew having the door slightly ajar it would create a means for the cooler outside air to circulate throughout the room better.

Hoping that would help I took another drink of water and laid back down. With thoughts of what Edward and his parents must be doing, and a soft breeze now filtering in through the window, I felt my eyelids drooping and soon I was asleep.

However my slumber was interrupted by the sounds of slamming doors in the building. You'd think everyone would be quiet, not wanting to wake those of us sleeping, but apparently there were several people in the building still awake. Pushing the button on my watch to light the face, I saw that I had been out for a couple of hours and it was nearing midnight.

Glancing around the room, there was nothing to indicate that Edward or his parents had been here at all, but remembering what I'd learned in the mandatory family planning and heath classes I'd taken this past year in school, I knew that the delivery of a baby could take several hours so it could be morning or later before they were finished.

Stretching and releasing a long yawn, I knew I had to try and clear my head and get back to sleep. The Cullens were experienced volunteers and were probably used to little or no sleep, but I was not and didn't want to be dragging on my first full day.

After tossing and turning for another hour I was frustrated. Each time I found a comfortable position and relaxed long enough to cool off and start to drift back to sleep, my mind was flooded with images of vibrant green eyes, sexy lopsided grins and full red lips edging closer and then touching mine. When my almost-dream reached the point where our lips where touching, the spark of whatever it was I'd felt with Edward would surge through me all over again and jolt me awake. By the time I'd repeated this cycle a few times, I was hot and sweaty all over again, having tossed and turned like a flopping fish out of water. I'd gone from being warm and stuffy to being flustered, hot, and sweaty—I felt gross.

Not knowing what else to do I gave in and got up. I turned on my flashlight and rummaged through my suitcase until I found my towel. Making my way into the bathroom, I stood the flashlight up on the vanity so that it reflected straight up in the air, softly illuminating the room.

Sighing, I leaned against the vanity and rubbed my eyes. I didn't know what to make of my situation. I'd never had a boy affect me in such a way. Okay so maybe Edward wasn't like any of the boys back home, he was older, wiser, more mature, and certainly much better looking. In fact he'd surely be put in Alice's 'fucking hot' category if she could see him. But that still didn't explain why he had my mind so boggled and why I couldn't get the images of our almost kiss out of my head. I'd been kissed before and I'd enjoyed it. Well except that Mike guy Alice had set me up with that one time in eleventh grade. He had kissed me like he'd been trying to swallow my whole face. It had been so disgusting.

"Ugh," I groaned in frustration. _Get a friggin' grip, Isabella._ So he almost kissed you. It didn't happen and it probably won't ever happen again, so just let it go.

"Right," I mumbled to myself. I had a feeling it wasn't going to be that simple to forget.

Praying that a cool shower would help me unwind and clear my head, I slipped out of my clothes and turned on the water. However as much as I had been thinking a cold shower would help and allow me to sleep I wasn't anywhere prepared for just how cold the water was. Somewhere in my mind I had been thinking cool swimming pool water that you eventually got used to, but this was like a sheet of ice raining down on me.

Being totally unprepared for the temperature of the water I was startled from the shock of it hitting my naked skin. I jumped and then slipped on the wet tub bottom which set into motion a chain reaction of me gripping the shower curtain, me screaming as I realized it was ripping from the bar due to me pulling on it and then me landing on the hard bathroom floor with a loud thud.

And if all that weren't bad enough, before I could gather my wits and get myself up, the bathroom door was flung open.

"Bella! Are you okay? I heard a scream and…"

There was Edward standing in the doorway staring down at my very naked self.

* * *

**Oh what will happen next? I can't wait to hear your thoughts. Don't forget to check out the blog for cast pictures and other goodies I post along the way. **

**Thanks for reading! See you in two weeks!**

**EA**


	4. Slippery When Wet

**Hi, Everyone. I am so sorry, It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me and because of that time got away from me, which is why I didn't get to reply to your wonderful reviews and why this chapter is a day late. So again, I am truly sorry, I loved reading each and every one of them. **

**My eternal gratitude to My-Bella and Hope4More for all their help. **

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. __**Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. _**No reproduction, downloading, copying, re-posting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization.**_

* * *

***{Edward}***

_Shit, shit, shit, _I thought as I quickly spun to face the door I had just barged through.

My heart was thumping so loud and so fast I could feel it pounding in my ears like a bass drum and no matter how hard I squeezed my eyes shut the images of Bella lying naked on the bathroom floor wouldn't quit racing through my mind.

Wasn't it bad enough that I hadn't been able to get our near kiss out of my head all afternoon, or that I had watched her while we ate like some kind of pervert when she had licked her lips after taking a drink of her water? The sight of her small pink tongue sliding across her freshly moistened lips had left me wishing that I had kissed her and that I could do it again. Over and over again to be honest.

But no, apparently that wasn't enough. Seeing her naked and wet, sprawled out on the floor, now had me standing here with a hard-on that would surely cut glass, leaving me unable to act like the mature med student I was and see if she was hurt.

"Ow, shit," she whimpered. I heard the clinking sound of the shower curtain moving along the few remaining hooks still holding the last edge of it on the bar and realized that she was still lying down there possibly hurt.

_Stupid idiot,_ I internally chastised myself. _Get a fucking grip._

"Um…Bella, are you…are you okay?" I asked, barely able to get the words out while fighting the urge to turn around and see if she was okay. I just kept telling myself that I couldn't look because she's naked, but then I remembered that _she's naked_, and fuck if I didn't want to get another glimpse. This wasn't helping my situation at all.

"Uh…eeek," she squealed. I was pretty sure I had heard her slip again just before she'd made the noise.

"Bella, are you okay?" I asked.

I had never been so torn on what to do in my entire life. Was she hurt? Was she able to get up on her own? I wanted to turn around and see, but when she'd slipped for the second time her flashlight had fallen over and was now laying on its side shining right at me. With the images of her naked body sprawled on the floor still dancing through my head there was no way I could turn around right now. I could just imagine the look of horror on her face as I stood in the spotlight looking much more like a pervert ready to attack her than the doctor I was studying to be. As much as I wanted to help, I had to stay put—I couldn't let her see me like this.

"I…um…I think I'm okay. I…just…" she trailed off and let out a long sigh. "I can't get up. My foot keeps slipping on the wet shower floor and I can't get any leverage to pull myself up."

_What to do, what to do? Think fast, Cullen._

"Uh, do you uh, have a towel in here?" I asked her, thinking I might have a plan if she did.

"Yeah on the sink," she replied softly.

"Okay, I'm uh…just gonna back up and grab the towel and drop it down to you. Then once you cover yourself up, I'll help you up. Okay?"

"Okay."

I swallowed involuntarily in my nervous state, trying to think of anything to make my body calm the hell down. Taking a deep breath,I instantly conjured up some of the most horrible situations I'd seen over the past few years volunteering, which helped me regain better control of my body. I began to back up slowly with my hand moving in a patting motion trying to locate the vanity where her towel was.

Finally I felt my hand land on the cold, hard vanity surface and after sliding it around briefly I located her towel.

"Uh…catch," my voice crackling as I caught a glimpse of her naked again. I tried to only turn enough so that I could somewhat aim the towel to land where she could grab it but it was hard with all the shadows cast by her flashlight.

_Earthquakes, hurricanes and destruction, _I repeated in my head.

"I'm ready," she whispered so softly I hardly heard her.

Clinching my eyes shut I took a deep breath trying to get a hold of my emotions.

_Jesus, Cullen, you act like you've never seen a naked girl before._ _Stop acting like a fucking fifteen year old boy and act like the twenty-two year old man that you are!_

But even as I had the thought, I couldn't help but think that seeing Bella naked was in some way different. _More. _

After holding the air in for as long as I could, it shot out in a big whoosh of air. Hearing a door slam in the building somewhere jarred me back to the task at hand and it occurred to me how this might look if my parents were to show up right now. Not being sure how they'd react, I spun around to see Bella lying flat on her back with the towel wrapped around her wet body. Unable to resist, my eyes traveled back and forth across the length of her body.

_Damn she's beautiful._

Bending over I held my hand out to her. With one arm clasped tightly around the top of the towel, she reached up towards my hand with the other.

As Bella gripped my hand, I started to pull her up, but her foot slipped, nearly causing me to tumble down to the floor on top of her. In the process of attempting to balance myself and not fall, my hand was sprayed with the ice cold water from the shower and it dawned on me that the water was still on. _No wonder she's slipping and sliding all over the place._

"Just a sec," I told her. Letting go of her hand, I took a step forward and leaned over her to shut the water off. Then instead of taking her hand again, I reached down and grabbed both her elbows, keeping them tucked tightly against her body so her towel didn't come off and pulled her up.

However I used a little too much force, causing her to smack right into my chest and forcing me to wrap my arms around her so she wouldn't fall again.

It was as if time had stopped moving. We stared at one another, neither of us making any attempt to pull away from the other. Almost as if I was being held to her, bound by some invisible rope, I was unable to back away and instead felt myself leaning closer to her.

_I'm going to kiss her, _I said in my head and was certain this time nothing was going to stop me. But just as my lips brushed against hers, Bella started shivering and I remembered that she was wet and probably getting cold.

Resting my forehead against hers, I found my voice. "You better, uh, get dried off before you get any colder."

"Oh, yeah," she agreed and shuddered.

"I'm just gonna go and…uh let you do that."

She nodded and I slowly stepped away from her.

***{SIB}***

After leaving Bella in the bathroom, I made my way back over to where I'd dropped my stuff in the middle of the floor when I'd heard her scream. Luckily the moonlight streaming in through the window was fairly bright or I'd probably have fallen over my stuff, given the location of where I'd left it.

Picking up my backpack, I flung it over my shoulder and then grabbed the handle of my suitcase before squatting down to grab my sleeping bag. Scanning the room, I saw where Bella had set her stuff. My first instinct would have been to put my stuff right under the window in order to have the benefit of the cool night air and the breeze, but if I did I'd be faced with the predicament of either putting my feet in Bella's face, which was rude, not to mention wrong, or placing my sleeping bag so our heads would only be a foot or so apart.

Did I want to be that close to her? _Well duh._

Did she want me to be that close to her? I'd like to think she did. But in all honesty I really had no clue. Since I had just seen her naked in the bathroom and I had no clue if she'd noticed my reaction to her being naked I wondered if she'd think I was some sort of pervert? Of course if she noticed my body's reaction to hers, she might think I was a pervert regardless of where I slept.

My eyes roamed to the other side of the room. Thinking of settling there for the night didn't help me any as it seemed too far from her and I cringed at the thought of her thinking I was distancing myself from her because of what had happened a few minutes ago.

"Damn it," I uttered as I tossed my sleeping bag across the room. It bounced off the wall and rolled back to the middle of the floor.

Grabbing it as it rolled back out to me, I sat my stuff down along the same wall as Bella's. I needed for her to see that nothing had changed between us because of the shower incident. I wanted her to see that I saw it as only one friend helping another. She fell, I helped her up, that's all there was to it.

_It was, wasn't it? I'd simply helped a friend. And what guy wouldn't get aroused seeing a wet, naked, beautiful woman lying before them. It was normal, right?_

My thoughts were distracted by the sounds of Bella shuffling around in the bathroom. Hearing a dull thud, I looked at the door and saw a light shining out from under it.

"Shit," she cursed just loud enough to hear as she fumbled around on the other side of the door. Based on what I'd heard and the way the light had moved back and forth from under the door briefly, it was easy to guess that she had dropped her flashlight.

Thinking she would have to be done in there soon and not wanting her to see me so flustered, I was eager to get settled. I unrolled my bag and scooted the head of it back about an arm's length from the head of hers. I hoped that this distance would be close enough to show her I wasn't avoiding her, but far enough I wouldn't freak her out either.

When she didn't come right out and I heard what sounded like her fumbling around in there aimlessly, I began to wonder if she was stalling for time. And if she was stalling then she must really not want to come out here and face me.

"Make up your fucking mind, Cullen," I muttered to myself. I tugged my stuff with me across the floor, switching to the space on the opposite side of the room, the whole time second guessing my first choice. If she didn't even want to come out of the bathroom, what would she think of me being so close? If she was waiting in there hoping for me to go to sleep, and wanted to avoid me that badly maybe I should just give her some more space until after we could talk about it.

Thing was I didn't want to wait to talk to her, I wanted to do this now, before there was any chance for any kind of misconceptions to develop and cause things to become weird between us. But I just didn't know where to be in the room while we talked to make her feel more at ease about it.

Dropping my backpack next to my feet, I slumped down next to it and rested my elbows on my knees, letting my head drop forward into the palms of my hands. Why was she unnerving me so much? I wasn't a virginal school boy seeing a naked woman for the first time. Nor was I a man-whore who'd been around the block more times than he could count. I'd been with a few girls over the last couple of years and I'd seen countless diagrams and such in my pre-med classes. Hell I'd just seen a woman give birth. So why was I such a mess now? I just didn't get it.

Groaning, I unzipped my suitcase and scrounged through it until I found my grey tank top and a pair of my old basketball shorts. For a second I thought about how I sometimes still missed playing, but keeping up with a pre-med academic workload and the grueling practices on top of the busy schedule of an athlete had been too much. When I had given one hundred percent to either one, then the other suffered and I didn't do anything half-assed. I gave my all when I dedicated myself to something and in the long run, my education had been much more important.

Zipping the case back up, I scooted it over next to the wall and then gripped the back of my t-shirt, which was wet all down the front from Bella. _Don't go there again, _I thought as images of her naked surfaced againwhile Itugged my shirt over my head and felt a twitch in my pants. Using the back side of my t-shirt I dried my chest and then laid it over the suitcase to dry and pulled on the tank.

Since Bella was still in the bathroom, I hopped up off the floor to use the closet area by the room entrance as a makeshift place to change. However when the sound of the door knob jiggling alerted me that she was about to come out of the bathroom, I waited to use it instead of the closet area.

"Perfect timing," I said with a smile and held up my shorts, trying to diffuse any awkwardness she might be feeling. It would be a long summer for us both if we couldn't move past this and were living in the same room for all of that time.

Her eyes met mine briefly and after grinning bashfully she diverted her gaze to the corner where her things were and hurried over to it.

I made quick use of the bathroom, changing into my shorts and came out to find Bella lying on her sleeping bag facing the wall. Even though she appeared to be asleep I had a difficult time believing she had fallen asleep in the small amount of time it had taken me to change my shorts. Especially since I had hurried to do it, hoping to talk to her and make sure she hadn't been hurt when she'd fallen. I also wanted to ease her mind over any embarrassment she might be feeling.

When I couldn't tell for sure, I remained quiet and didn't say anything to her just on the chance she truly was sleeping.

Tossing my cargo shorts onto the floor next to my stuff, I laid down on my sleeping bag. Rolling to my side, I couldn't take my eyes off of Bella. The longer I laid there watching her across the room, the more wrong it felt.

I chuckled sarcastically to myself, and thought, _Why don't you just plant your ass in the middle of the floor? That wouldn't be too close or too far. _

Huffing, I got up and pulled my bag back over to its original position, leaving the rest of my stuff behind. If she'd wanted the distance before then she'd gotten it. If she was truly asleep then she'd have no clue that I was so close to her now, which made me feel better. She had her way before and now I could have mine and not worry about her pushing me away or thinking badly of me for it. A win, win situation, I told myself.

Lying on my stomach with my chin resting on my arms folded under me, I spent the next fifteen to twenty minutes watching her sleep. I was about to close my eyes and give in to the fatigue that was nagging me when I saw Bella's arm move. At first I thought she was just stirring in her sleep, but when I saw her pull some sort of band off her wrist, I knew she was awake. Not wanting to freak her out, I laid my head down and peeked through my eyelids that were just cracked open just enough to see. She rose slightly and twisted her hair up into a knot and then wrapped the band around it before resting it back down on her travel sized pillow. As she adjusted her position, her arm stretched out a few inches above her sleeping bag causing her hand to lie on the floor.

Some unknown urge inside of me had me sliding my hand forward until it rested beside hers without touching it. I found the closeness to be strangely comforting. I stayed like that for as long as I could hold my eyes open, willing her to roll over and look at up me. When she didn't, sleep took over and the last thing I remembered thinking was…

_Oh, Bright Eyes. What is it about you that makes me so damn worried about whether or not you are avoiding me on purpose? Why can't I quit thinking about you? What are you doing to me, Bright Eyes?_

**June 5****th****, 2011**

***{Bella}***

"Bella. Bella, it's time to wake up." I heard a soft voice dragging me awake.

"Five more minutes please, Mother," I grumbled while burying my face into my pillow and covering my head with my arms.

A soft laugh was followed by, "Bella, it's Esme Cullen. Have you forgotten where you are, dear?" reminded me of exactly where I was and the fact that I really needed to get up.

"Oh, geez, I'm so sorry," I told her popping up and brushing away the hair that had fallen in my face.

"It's quite alright, but we really need to get moving."

She held out her hand, offering me help up off the floor. Taking it, I grunted out, "What time is it?" as I slowly rose up.

_Sleeping on such a hard surface was going to take some getting used to._

"It's about quarter past five. It'll be daylight soon, so if we want breakfast before the day's work begins, we need to hurry."

I nodded in agreement and bent over, grabbing my tooth brush out of my bag and my bottle of water since the facet water wasn't safe to drink yet.

Halfway to the bathroom I realized I needed to get dressed as well and turned back to get some clothes. After finding what I wanted, out of the corner of my eye I noticed Edward's backpack and suitcase sitting where they had been last night but his sleeping bag was gone.

Glancing around the room, I spotted a sleeping bag on the same wall as mine and two cots on the opposite wall with two sleeping bags identical to the one on the floor by mine.

Esme must have noticed me searching the room with my eyes. Sitting on one of the cots, tying her shoes she said, "Carlisle and Edward went down a little bit ago to check on Marisa, the young woman who had the baby last night."

"Oh," I replied trying not to sound as if I'd been worried about where Edward had gone.

I was actually quite relieved that he was with his father and hadn't snuck out early this morning in order to avoid me. Although I guessed if he had been trying to avoid me he wouldn't have moved his bag over next to mine and I couldn't believe I had been completely oblivious to him having done it. I must have been deeply asleep when he had.

"So, what did the woman…"

I looked at Esme for help remembering the woman's name, while internally ridiculing myself for having forgotten it already.

_Can't you stop thinking about him for two seconds? She just told you the name. _

"Marisa," Esme answered.

"Yes, Marisa. Did she have a boy or girl?"

"A boy. She named him Javier. Hurry along now or else we are going to miss breakfast," she ordered in a motherly way.

Teeth brushed and dressed, I sat down on the floor to put on my shoes. I had one shoe on and was about to tie the other one when Esme stopped me.

"You are going to need to wear more durable shoes than those," she told me.

"These are all I've got, so I don't really have much choice," I explained.

"Here," she said after digging through the huge Army green duffle bag sitting near the head of her cot and handing me a pair of hiking boots similar to the ones she was wearing. "Your foot looks about the same size as mine so see if these fit."

"Thanks," I replied and sat to put them on.

"How do they fit?" she asked.

"They're a little loose."

"Ummm, Oh I know," she said. She walked over to Edward's suitcase and dug through it until she popped up with a pair of his socks. "These should work." She tossed the socks to me. "Edward will probably never miss them," she added.

"Are you sure? I know clean clothes must be a hard thing to come by in these types of situations."

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides he would never go against his mother. He knows better." She had a smirk on her face that told me Edward would never challenge his mother.

I stuffed a sock in each of the toe areas and put the boots back on. This time they were close to perfect and after I'd thanked her again, we were off to eat.

***{SIB}***

My relief over Edward not avoiding me was short lived. The instant I saw him standing with his father, Peter and a couple of the other volunteers chatting, all my nervousness about facing him came rushing back to me. It would have been bad enough if I'd just been clumsy and had fallen, but no, I had to go and fall in the shower where he'd seen me dripping wet like a drowned cat and yeah…completely naked.

I was standing there lost watching Edward, wanting him to see me, but at the same time wanting to run and hide, when I felt a soft hand on my arm.

"The breakfast line is over there," Esme told me while pointing to the table on the far side of the tent.

"Aren't you going to eat?" I asked her.

"Oh heavens yes," she assured me with a light laugh. "I just want to go check with Carlisle and see how Marisa is this morning."

"Oh, okay."

She patted my arm and said she'd see me in a bit. I nodded and then headed over to see what was on the menu for this morning.

Taking the water, bowl of oatmeal and orange I was given, I sat down on one of a couple of overturned buckets I spotted near the entrance to the tent. Placing the water on the ground and the orange on my lap, I dug in to the oatmeal.

"Penny for your thoughts," Edward said sitting down and taking a whopping bite of his apple. I had seen him start to head over this way, but didn't want to be caught watching him and had turned my gaze back to my bowl.

"Hey," I replied, not really wanting to tell him how I was feeling.

He bumped my leg with his knee. "You look like you're a million miles away. Homesick already?"

_No, I just still feel naked around you even though I am fully clothed._

I shrugged and scooped up another bite of oatmeal.

"You sleep okay last night?" he asked.

"I guess."

I glanced over at him before sitting my empty bowl down in front of me. I began peeling my orange while wondering how he could just sit here and chat like nothing had happened when I was feeling so small and insignificant and completely mortified.

"You ready for our first full day, Rookie?" he teased and reached over, snatching a section of my orange.

I shrugged again, my eyes following his hand as he popped the piece of fruit in to his mouth.

"Look." He paused, scratching the back of his head. He leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees and gazed up at me through squinted eyes. "I don't want what—"

Edward was cut off by Peter calling everyone's attention to him.

"There is much to do, Folks, so it's time to get moving," Peter began. "Sam, Jared and Rachel, I'd like for the three of you to go up the beach about a half mile and retrieve the air drop of supplies that was dispatched this morning."

The three of them immediately nodded and began to walk toward him as he held up a set of keys. He spoke to them briefly. From what I could see he was giving them some sort of directions to the area they were headed to and then pointed to a jeep parked outside that had a moderate sized flatbed trailer attached to the rear of it.

He continued by asking another group to go with the other doctor and one of the nurses to the nearby village to let them know help was nearby and to determine what their needs were, as well as check for any that were injured or ill and required medical attention.

Others were sent to work with the businesses along this stretch of the beach and help them begin removing tree limbs from their properties as well as the roads in the surrounding area.

Peter's daughter Bree and niece Tanya were assigned to begin sorting through the boxes of donated clothes that had been sent to the area. I caught Bree rolling her eyes at her father and when she noticed me watching her she shot a snide glare my way.

It was difficult to fathom how a man who was so obviously dedicated to his work could have a daughter who seemed to be so uncaring and unconcerned about anyone but herself. I didn't know what part of the states they called home, but I knew that when natural disasters struck, they didn't differentiate between social classes, which made me think that Bree would do well to know that and hope that she would be lucky to have volunteers help her if she were ever in the position as the people of this country were.

_She's the exact opposite of me. She'd get along perfectly with the lifestyle I was trying to get away from._

The rest of the volunteers were given their assignments and I was grateful I wasn't on the team that had to handle the portable bathrooms. However that didn't stop me from imagining what Bree's reaction might have been if she'd been assigned to that team. It was very hard to fight the smile that wanted to spread across my face. I was certain the only thing that kept me from doing so was the fear of being asked what it was I was smiling about. I had enough to deal with after my disaster of a shower last night. The last thing I needed was to make enemies by poking fun at Peter's daughter.

"Good morning, Bella, Son," Carlisle said as Edward and me approached him. We'd been assigned to work with him and Esme again for the day.

"Good morning," I returned.

"Where do you want us to start?" Edward asked with ease, showing his experience and comfort level with whatever it was his father might have for him to do.

"We've been told some injured are being brought in shortly from one of the flooded valley towns, which means I need to be here and ready."

"Okay," Edward replied. "You need us to help get set up for that? Do you have a head count on the amount of injured coming in?"

I couldn't help but admire how he was eager and ready to jump in and help.

"Actually, I have a more important task for you to handle," Carlisle informed him. "I need you to go tent to tent and assess the needs of the inhabitants of each one. Your mother has a clipboard set up for you with a checklist of the information we need.

"In order to be able to organize the needs of each tent and keep track of it, we need a way to identify each one so there is no confusion. We are going to use a system your mother came up with the last time we were in this situation. What you do is use the can of spray paint in the bag to put a number each tent. Make sure you make it large enough and put it in a place to easily been seen. Then each checklist will be marked with the same number sprayed on the tent allowing us to keep accurate information for each one. Are you following me so far?"

"Yes. Only question I have is will I be doing this alone?" Edward asked his father.

Curious about that myself I looked to Carlisle and waited for his answer.

"No," Carlisle stated. "I thought that since you and Bella already know each other somewhat, you'd be comfortable working together today. If not, I can see if someone else is available to go with you. "

Three pairs of eyes were suddenly fixated on me, waiting for my response.

"Oh…no problem. I'm game for whatever you need me to do."

"Good. We were going to do it ourselves, but with the patients being brought in, and Garrett off checking the local villages, we both need to remain here.

"Edward, you are the next closest thing to a doctor we have and I trust your judgment in the instance you were to come across someone needing to be treated."

"Bella, since Edward is familiar with what we need the two of you to do, why don't you come with me? I'll go over the checklist with you and fill you in on some of the things we need to pay close attention to while Carlisle helps Edward pack a small bag of supplies you might need," Esme suggested with a soft smile and motioned with her hand for me to follow her.

"Do you have any previous volunteer work?" Esme inquired while sliding the checklist under the metal clamp of the worn clipboard she grabbed off a stack of boxes.

"No. Is that a problem?" I asked wondering if maybe Edward should have someone more experienced helping him.

"Oh, no. Not at all. I was just curious. Everyone has to start somewhere. Don't hesitate to ask Edward or Carlisle and myself if you have any questions. We were all new at this at one time and we're very appreciative of your desire to help." Her voice was very sincere as she spoke and it was very reassuring to me.

It was nice to have someone understand and appreciate why I was here. Alice understood my desire to become a nurse and help people, but she didn't get why I had chosen to begin helping them now when I could be lying on a beach somewhere not having a care in the world. And of course my parents were beyond trying to reach. The one time I had mentioned volunteering at a local shelter for abused women, my mother's idea of helping had been to write a check and be done with it.

Esme went over the checklist with me, telling me that Edward would catch most things, but to pay extra attention to the smaller details like if there were children, what they might need, if the occupants of the tents had shoes, clothes, or just the everyday basic necessities they might need to get them by until they could either return to their homes, or start new in putting their lives back together.

We were going over a few more details when I heard Edward's voice behind me. "You ready to get started?"

"Yeah," I replied softly. Turning around I glanced in Edward's direction quickly enough to see him leaning with one arm resting on the stack of boxes that Esme had grabbed the clipboard from and the other hanging by his side with a small canvas backpack in his hand.

"Let's go then," he said as I moved past him in a hurry so I wasn't forced to make eye contact with him. I was already on edge fearing what he must think of me after what had happened last night. I didn't need to look in his eyes and see those fears staring back at me, confirming all the thoughts my imagination was torturing me with.

We were to the door of the tent when we heard Carlisle call after Edward. Stopping to see what he wanted it didn't take Carlisle long to make it over to us.

"Here, you'll need this," he told Edward as he handed him a stethoscope. "It's an extra one your mother just found in the supplies."

Edward nodded and took the tool from his father.

***{Edward}***

A couple of hours had gone by and Bella was being too quiet. Her personality had shifted dramatically and it was bothering the hell out of me. Gone was the talkative, sweet, slightly sarcastic girl I had met yesterday and in her place was a girl who appeared to be on edge, like she was walking on pins and needles around me since we had left main tent this morning.

I had tried to blow it off, thinking maybe she was tired. I was well aware of the fact that neither of us had gotten a whole lot of sleep. But as the morning went by I determined it was more than just the fact she hadn't slept well.

Her interactions with the occupants of the tents and me were completely opposite of each other. Anytime I spoke to her all I received in return were short, to the point, curt answers. No joking, no sarcasm and definitely no smiles. I could see the unease in her eyes, well that was when she'd even look directly at me, and I could feel it rolling off her in waves.

On the flip side of things I watched repeatedly as she interacted with the people we were checking on with a great amount of care and compassion, even at times speaking in perfectly fluent Spanish to better communicate what we needed to know. It was truly amazing to watch and made me even more intrigued by her. I'd even briefly wondered what she was going to study in college this fall, thinking she'd make a great nurse or even doctor, judging by how she was acting with the these people. It was easy to see how much she truly cared about their well being.

Other than some questions about what we were doing, she didn't say much at all to me. The one time she had spoken the most to me had been when we discovered a man who I was certain had a broken foot.

"Bella, would you run down to my father and ask him to send a couple of volunteers to help Mr. Rodriguez down to the treatment area? I believe he is going to need to be sent to the hospital on the other side of the island."

"Sure," she quickly replied and was off to do as I had asked.

When she returned a few minutes later with help, I had just finished explaining to Mr. Rodriguez why he needed to be treated immediately. He was a bit hesitant at first, thinking he would surely be fine in a few days, but his wife was able to convince him to do as I had asked.

Once they were on their way down to my father, Bella and I were moving on to the next tent when she suddenly grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"Why does a broken foot require urgent care?" she blurted out. "I mean normally you get an x-ray, a cast if it is broken and sent home. So why are you so worried about Mr. Rodriguez's foot?"

"Normally yes that would be what would take place. However, remember we are in anything but a normal situation here," I told her.

"Okay, but I still don't get what makes it an emergency. Can you explain it better to me?"

Intrigued by her eagerness to learn I filled her in on my concerns. "For starters, if his foot is broken, he at least needs an x-ray to make sure the bones are aligned properly before they begin to heal. Untreated if they fuse back together he could face anything from permanent discomfort, severe arthritis later on, not to mention risk of re-fracturing it since the bone won't be as strong if not set properly. It could even lead to a change in the way he walks which could lead to other issues such as back problems."

"Makes sense. You said for starters. Is there more?"

"Yes, some of the more severe risks would be infection that could lead to the loss of his foot or in rare instances blood clots could form, which if dislodged could be carried into his blood stream and have possible deadly results."

"Wow," she replied while mulling over all the information I had given her. "It's really amazing and scary to think about how what you would perceive as a simple injury could be so serious."

"Yes it is. Now come on, there may be others we need to send for treatment. We don't have time to waste."

"Right, sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You can't learn if you don't ask questions. We just need to keep moving so we can get to everyone and then hopefully hand out any supplies they need by the end of the day."

She nodded and began moving toward the next tent.

Fortunately Mr. Rodriguez was the only one in need of emergency care right now. There were a few others who had some heath conditions that should be monitored as well as some who hadn't been able to bring their medications with them. But those people could be cared for by my father and Garrett and we would assist those who needed medications in obtaining them. On a whole what we found was really minor considering what we could have been faced with.

The key would be providing these people with what they needed to survive and remain healthy until they could put their lives back together. Many of them had lost everything—their homes, their possessions, and their jobs as well. Starting over was not going to be an easy task, but we would do whatever we could to ease it as much as we could.

While I was definitely focused on my true mission here, I also couldn't stop trying to figure out Bella's severe turn in behavior. I'd had girls pissed at me before and while I didn't like it, it had never affected me enough to stay on my mind this way. On top of that, I didn't think I had done anything to garner the cold shoulder I was getting from Bella and that only served to baffle me more.

She had been at ease around my parents this morning and after thinking back on the conversation we'd had during breakfast, she'd been distant with me then as well. That made it clear to me that whatever was bothering her had to do with me and there was only one thing I could think of that would change her attitude towards me as much as it had. The shower incident. That had to be what it was. It was the only thing that made sense. I just didn't know why she was mad at me for it and I couldn't help needing to know.

Morning turned to afternoon and by one in the afternoon we had finished with gathering the information we needed. It seemed a perfect time to try and get her to talk to me. "We should go grab lunch," I told Bella as she finished writing some notes on the last checklist we had completed.

She nodded as she wrote.

Trying hard to engage her in conversation and get her talking, I then said, "After lunch we can begin handing out the supplies that are needed and probably assist my dad when he checks out those that have some health issues."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Bella replied without even so much as a glance at me as she began to walk ahead of me on our way back to the main tent.

Determined to talk to her while we ate, I picked up my pace too, and followed closely behind her.

As I entered the main tent I made my way over to the area that was partitioned off for medical purposes. Bella was just a few steps ahead of me at this point.

"Hey, guys," my mother greeted us when hearing us enter the space. She was removing the blood pressure cuff from the arm of on one of the people we had sent down here to be seen.

"Good call on Mr. Rodriguez, Son," I heard behind me as I felt my father's hand clamp down on my shoulder.

"So his foot was broken?"

"I'm as certain as I can be without having the ability to x-ray it."

"So what do you do in a situation like that?" Bella asked. "Do you just put a cast on it or what?"

My father smiled as he began to answer her. He loved to talk about anything that had to do with his work. "Sometimes we do. Sometimes there is no other choice depending on the circumstances in which you are treating a person."

"It must be incredibly hard sometimes not having the means to treat people as you would like," Bella added.

"It is. But in Mr. Rodriguez's instance, we are fortunate to be able to do so. We braced his foot to stabilize it from further injury and we had him transported to the other side of the island to the hospital where he will have it x-rayed and then treated based on those results."

"I guess as bad as things are on this side of the island it really is not nearly has horrific as it could have been had the hurricane hit the whole thing," Bella said next.

"It really is. Things would be in a much more dire state had the entire island lost power and sustained the damage this side has," my father told her.

"So anything else I need to be aware of at this time?" my father asked me.

"Yeah, just a couple of things I wanted to go over with you."

"I'm going to go get lunch," Bella told us making me wonder if she was using my talk with my dad as an excuse to go off without me.

"I'll be there in a minute," I told her. She nodded and shot me a quick glance along with a weak smile before heading off on her own.

After going over what I'd needed to with my dad, I grabbed my lunch and a couple bottles of water before searching for where Bella had gone. I didn't see her anywhere inside of the tent.

I found her outside sitting on one of several pieces of a fallen tree trunk that had been cut into a size that was the perfect height for a makeshift chair.

She was sitting with her back to the tent, facing the ocean. I paused for a second, taking in how beautiful she looked as she tipped her head back with her eyes closed and took a long swig of water, then keeping her face pointed at the sky like a kitten basking in the afternoon sun.

A breeze blew in from the ocean and her lips curved into a tranquil smile as she enjoyed the feeling of it. It was the first real smile I had seen on her face all day.

Knowing we didn't have much time, I sat down on the chunk of tree next to her and started with something neutral, l hoping to break the ice, "The ocean is a beautiful yet sometimes deadly thing."

"It is."

Not as much of a response as I would have liked to have from her, but I figured it was a start.

"You were great today. It's easy to see how much you care about being here, how you are pouring your heart into wanting to help these people."

She glanced over at me, squinting against the bright sun, and then hung her head. Kicking at the dirt below her foot she replied softly, "Thanks."

God how did I do this? I had no idea how to get her to open up to me and tell me what the heck was wrong. So I just straight out asked her. "What's going on? Are you pissed at me? Did I say something, do something?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Bullshit. You've been cold and distant all day, barely speaking a word to me unless you had to. So why don't we try this again. What's going on? Is this about what happened last night? Beca—"

"I told you it's nothing. I'm fine, you're fine. Everything's fine," she snapped and stood, before starting to walk away.

"Damn it, Bright Eyes!" I huffed louder than I should have, causing her to stop dead in her tracks.

Her head hung and her hands came up to run at her eyes.

"Fuck," I cursed softly to myself.

_Now you've done it, Cullen, you've made her cry._

She started to take a step again and I knew if I didn't fix things now, I might never get the chance to.

"Wait. Please," I called out to her and got up, quickly closing the distance between us.

Standing behind her, I placed my hands on her arms and gently turned her to face me. "Bella," I said softly while lifting her chin. "Please look at me."

As her eyes rose to meet mine I could see more unshed tears pooling in them just waiting to escape.

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "I'm sorry for acting like an arrogant jackass just now. I didn't mean to. I just don't understand why you've been so different today."

"It's okay," she mumbled.

"No, it's not. I was an ass. Are you mad at me? If so please tell me so I can try to fix whatever it is that I've done."

A tear slipped down her cheek and I couldn't resist the urge to brush it away.

"It's not you. I'm not mad."

"If you're not mad at me then are you pushing me away for some reason? Do you want me to leave you alone, stay away from you?"

_God, please say no. _

She didn't say no. Well at least not verbally. Instead she shook her head quickly back and forth giving me the answer I had silently prayed for.

Letting out a long sigh of relief, I asked her, "Then why? Is this about what happened last night? About the shower?"

She nodded and hung her head again.

"Why?"

"Why? _Why_?" she repeated, louder and chuckling sarcastically. I couldn't help think, _there's that spunk that's been missing all day_.

"You really don't know?" she asked.

"No. I really don't. So please fill me in," I told her honestly.

"Boys," she huffed and rolled her eyes, raising her hands and letting them fall and smack against her legs in frustration.

"Please," I begged in a slightly whiny voice, flashing her my best puppy dog face.

"You really, really don't get it do you?" she asked and I thought I might have seen a twitch on the corners of her lips like she was fighting a smile.

"No."

Looking at the ground again, she said, "I'm embarrassed. Beyond embarrassed actually." I used my hand to lift her chin again, forcing her to look at me. She then whispered, "I'm so humiliated."

"You're humiliated because you slipped and fell in the shower?"

"Yes."

"Please don't get mad here, but I have to ask again, why?"

"Edward," she whined dragging out my name.

"What? You slipped and fell, and I helped you up. What's wrong with that?"

"I was naked. That's what," she whisper hollered at me while her face turned bright pink.

"Ooh. I see," I said trying not to laugh. I really didn't want to make things worse than they were. "So you aren't embarrassed because you fell. You are embarrassed because you were naked. More specifically because I saw you naked."

"Ding, ding, ding. Now you're catching on, smart one."

"Well you know," I said leaning forward, lowering my voice and whispering right next to her ear. "I could always let you see me naked if it would make you feel better. You know, even the score between us."

She smacked me on the arm when she whipped her head around and saw the wide smile on my face.

"You're…you're…"

"I'm what?" I asked laughing a little and loving the bright shade of pink her face was turning. She was pretty as it was, but her blush seemed to intensify it.

"You're an ass. It's not funny."

"No. It's not," I said tightening my lips and trying to put on a straight face. "I'm not trying to make fun of you either. Really I'm not. You're just adorable when you get all flustered," I told her.

"Ha ha," she said sarcastically with an equally sarcastic smirk.

"Look, I'm sorry if what happened made you feel weird or awkward around me. I hate that it did. But I want you to know that, all I see it as is that you fell and I helped you up. Nothing more than that. Okay?"

"Really?" she asked timidly.

"Really."

_There was no way I could tell her that the image of her lying there naked was burned into my brain._

"Edward. Bella," my father called from the tent entrance interrupting our conversation. "We need to get to handing out the supplies to the people in the tents."

"Be right there," I called back to him. He nodded and went back inside.

"I meant what I said. Please don't freak out about it. Maybe we can talk about it some more later if you want. But for right now please tell me that we're good."

"We're good."

"No more weirdness?" I asked, with a smile as I slipped my hand down her arm and gave hers a squeeze.

"Zero weirdness," she replied, squeezing my hand in return and giving me a big bright smile that was sincere for the first time today.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I was pulling her to me, wrapping my arms around her and hugging her tightly. She felt so good in my arms and as I felt her body relaxing against mine that's all I could think about.

Standing there with her pressed up against me, the last thing I wanted to do was let her go. She fit so perfectly in my arms. But I quickly realized that the longer we stayed like this, the more likely someone was going to see us. While I didn't think it was necessarily anyone else's business what went on between the two of us, I was certain that she might feel more than a little awkward if someone were to see us and we were put on the spot with a bunch of questions. Especially since I didn't even have a clue as to what was going on between us. So I reluctantly let go of her.

"We better go before my dad comes looking for us again."

_Last thing we needed was to have to explain it to him. Bella would probably freak out even more than she already had._

"Right," she agreed.

"Oh and one more thing," I said leaning next to her ear again, "My offer from before still stands if you ever feel the need to even the score."

I smiled and winked at her as she stood there with her mouth gaping wide open like a fish before turning to go see what my dad wanted. I was so relieved to finally know what was going on with her. A few moments later she had caught up to me and still had a trace of her blush coloring her cheeks.

We both remained quiet as we walked back into the tent, but it was a comfortable silence, not at all awkward like it had been all morning. All the tenseness that had eaten at me all morning had drained away. It had been like my breathing had been constricted by a tight band around my chest squeezing it all morning and now I could relax and breathe easy again.

I knew we would have to talk some more about last night and I had a feeling it wasn't going to be easy for her to let it go completely. I couldn't really explain why it was so important to me that she did, but I knew I wouldn't be able to handle going through the summer with things like they had been this morning.

I was determined to make sure I did everything I could to help her get past it and not be embarrassed any more. But for now, there was still plenty of work left to be done before sunset. Everything else could be worked out later.

* * *

**Happy Memorial weekend to you all! If you're looking for a another great story to read as you kick back by the poolside, swim on over to My-Bella's profile page and check out **_**Beneath The Surface **_**and see if Bella can tread water with Edward Masen and his crew at http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/7558623/1/Beneath_The_Surface**

**See you next time. Until then don't forget to check out the pictures for this chapter on my blog and let me know what ya thought. **

**EA**


	5. Bugging Me

Hi, Everyone, sorry for not getting the teaser up yesterday. To make it up to you I thought I'd go ahead and post the entire chapter for you._**  
**_

I wanted to take a minute to talk about something that may affect many of us in the very near future if it hasn't already. Literally**_ THOUSANDS_ **of stories with mature content are being pulled from left and right with no warning whatsoever or without giving to the authors the opportunity to fix or remove the material in question. I have heard of several authors loosing their stories **_FOREVER_ **because the only copy they had of them is the one that existed on FF. I know it would be devastating to myself if that were to happen to me.

Many of us authors and readers are taking part in a boycott of this weekend, Friday and Saturday. FanFiction relies on what's known as click advertising to fund their site. By not gong to the site at all, this hurts them by them not getting money for us simply visiting the site. That is how click advertising works, I am sure you have all seen those adds that are at the top of all the pages we open on the site.

So if you are interested in participating you need to not, only not sign in, but refrain form going to FanFiction in any way at all. I know it may be difficult to hold back from reading any stories that you may be waiting on to update, but waiting a day or two to read them is certainly better than having them removed all together.

What we are hoping to accomplish is to get the powers that be at FanFiction to do, is to require an additional login for an story containing mature content. It is something that would be very simple for them to do and this would go a long way in helping to make sure that those underage are not reading material that is not suited for them.

It's totally up to you whether you decide to participate or not. I just wanted to make you all aware of the situation. I also wanted to let you know that should my stories suddenly disappear, they are all also available to read over on The Writers Coffee Shop. My pen name is the same over there as it is here. The link to my stories on that site is,

_** www (dot) thewriterscoffeeshop (dot) ?uid=868.  
**_

If anything should happen here I will also post any information needed on my blog at eternallyaddicted (dot )blogsport (dot) com.

Okay, enough of the heavy. I hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I did writing it.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

* * *

_**June, 15**__**th**__**, 2011**_

_***{Bella}***_

"_Edward, why did you call me Bright Eyes earlier today?"_

_It wasn't the first time he'd called me that, he'd used it a couple of times on the plane too, and I was dying to know why. _

_I waited. _

_Nothing. _

_Thinking he had fallen asleep, I rolled over so I could do the same. I had barely closed my eyes and begun to relax when his voice cut through the silence surrounding us. _

"_Because they are."_

"_Because they are what?" I mumbled in my nearly asleep, slightly confused state._

"_Your eyes, they are bright," he said a bit hesitantly, like he was afraid of what I'd think._

"_Oh." I was quickly becoming more alert again, wanting to pay attention to what he was saying. _

"_It's one of the first things I noticed about you…your eyes… how bright they are. Especially when you laugh—they practically sparkle."_

"_Thank you," I whispered._

_A soft chuckle escaped from him as he asked, "Why are you thanking me?"_

"_Um…well it's just that I…I uh never really thought of my eyes as bright or pretty or anything really other than just plain old brown."_

"_I promise you they are nowhere near plain old brown. They're warm, bright, and…so…pretty," he told me. The last part had come out as barely more than a whisper._

"_Edward?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Thank you."_

"_You're welcome. We should get some sleep now."_

"_Good night, Edward," I said through a long yawn, proving his point._

"_Good night," he replied._

"_Edward?" I whispered a few seconds later. _

"_Hmmm."_

"_Your eyes are pretty too."_

"_Thanks," he murmured while this time he was the one yawning._

"_Night."_

"_Night, Bright Eyes."_

That had been nearly two weeks ago and since then Edward had said good night to me the same way every night. However waking up this morning was very different.

I had become used to the routine of sorts that we had all fallen into. I would wake around five every morning to find Edward already gone with Carlisle, leaving just Esme and myself in the room. Sometimes all three of them would be gone. The first time that had happened I'd been worried I'd overslept, but when I'd gotten down to the tent Esme had assured me that she had simply been unable to go back to sleep after she'd heard Carlisle get up. After looking around and seeing that the rest of the volunteers were just coming down from their rooms as well, I realized that she was being truthful and not just making me feel better.

Today was unlike any of those mornings. I had started to move my arm so I could push the button to silence the alarm on my watch, when I'd realized my hand was being held.

Craning my neck upwards so I could see my arm where it was resting over my head, I saw my fingers woven snuggly between Edward's. I didn't know how or at what point during the night our hands had come together, but there was no way I could deny how much I liked it.

Edward. He was in my thoughts almost constantly. There hadn't been anymore awkwardness between us after we'd talked about my shower fiasco. He was so sweet, so charming and so caring. And on top of all that it was so easy to see just how much what he was doing here meant to him. It was present in everything he did, the way he made sure things were done right, the care he took when helping someone, the time he took to explain things to a victim or another volunteer if they weren't sure about what he was telling them. He was just truly amazing and so much more than just a pretty face.

Of course he had a very pretty face, the guy was incredibly good looking, but I saw so much more than that and that made me wonder how many others did. I had seen the looks Bree and Tanya would give him before they'd put their heads together, whispering and giggling to each other while shooting glances his way. I'd even noticed one of the nurses here checking him out and I found it sad that they didn't take the time to see the real him.

As much as I wished they'd see beyond Edward's appearance, I could hardly fault them for looking. I did too. I didn't know how or why, after all I'd only known him for close to two weeks, but I was falling for him. Hard. It was thrilling and exciting and scary and overwhelming all at the same time, and I was completely helpless to stop it.

Despite the fact that we had been growing closer over the past several days, we hadn't really told each other much about our lives away from here. To be honest I didn't know if I wanted to because if we did, then the reality of the fact that I'd have to say goodbye to him at the beginning of August would rear its ugly head and I didn't want to think about that right now. I knew it would happen eventually, he'd go back to med school, wherever that was, and I'd go back to Baltimore and begin my first semester of college. But for now, I just wanted to enjoy being his friend or whatever it was you'd call the relationship that had formed between us, and worry about the rest later. Much later.

When my watch started to beep again, I realized I had been lying there staring at our entwined hands for nearly ten minutes. Reaching up with my free hand, I pushed the button to turn it off so it wouldn't sound again in another ten minutes and for the first time noticed that Edward and I were alone.

Knowing we had to get up, slowly I started to pull my hand free from his. I didn't want to, falling back to sleep with our hands still connected would be entirely too easy, but I didn't want his parents to come looking for us either. I wondered how long our hands had been like that and if Edward's parents had seen it before they'd left the room and if they did, would it bother them. His parents seemed to like me so I had to think that it wouldn't be a big deal.

_More like prayed it wouldn't._

Trying to push that thought from my mind, I concentrated on untangling our fingers. But just when I had mine almost completely loose from his, he tightened his grip.

"Bright Eyes, where you going?" His voice was thick and raspy from having just woken up and I couldn't stop the huge smile plastered across my face from his first waking words being the nickname he'd given me.

"It's time to rise and shine, Sleepy-head."

"Shit! What time is it?" He flew upright into a sitting position like he was a rubber band snapping back after being stretched too far.

I couldn't help giggling a little at his reaction. "It's only ten past five," I told him, still smiling over his response.

"Are you sure?" he asked after looking down at his watch and tapping the faceplate as if he thought it was broken. "How long ago did my parents go down?"

"Not sure. They were already gone when my alarm went off."

"Well then we best get going too."

"Didn't I just say that?"

"Maybe," he said while shrugging his shoulders with a teasing grin on his face.

***{SIB}***

"Did you guys get everything you needed on your list?" Esme asked as Edward and I sat down next to her and Carlisle for lunch. We had spent the morning checking on everyone in the tents and making sure everyone was doing okay and all their needs were being met, while compiling a list of what supplies each tent was in need of. It had been given to us as a weekly assignment.

"Yeah, I think we did," Edward answered.

"Oh," I said, thinking of the one thing we hadn't put on the list. "Do we have anymore of those clothes that were donated?" I asked Esme after swallowing a bite of my apple. It was all I could manage to eat. I had developed a headache sometime over the course of the morning and it was messing with my stomach.

"I think so. Why?" Esme asked.

"There are a couple of little girls in Tent Seventeen that are wearing adult shirts as dresses. Their mother says it's all they have, that the clothing they had been wearing when they got trapped in the storm had gotten torn and muddy. So I told her I would see if I could find something for them."

"I think there are a few boxes of things in the storage tent over on the other side of the parking lot," Carlisle added. "You are more than welcome to give them anything you might find."

"Thanks. I'll go look after lunch."

Carlisle nodded with a soft smile on his face and then turned his attention back to his lunch. His wife however had other things on her mind.

"So, Bella, Edward's told us he met you on the plane in Miami. Is that where you live?"

"Um…no," I said forcing myself to keep calm and not look away from her. I knew if I did it might look suspicious, like I had something to hide and the reality was that I did. I would surely be shipped home if they discovered I had used a fake last name to register with the Red Cross. "I was in Florida with my parents on vacation before I caught my flight here."

"Oh what a coincidence," Esme added. "Edward was down there with a friend of his for the same reason."

"Really?" I asked, looking over to Edward for confirmation. I had been thinking the same thing about them as they had about me—that they lived in Florida.

"Yeah, my best friend's family has a house in The Keys and we were spending a few days there before I headed here."

"How is Emmett?" Carlisle asked Edward.

"He's good. Same old Emmett. I keep telling him that one of these summers I am going to convince him to come with me," Edward said with a smile and a chuckle.

"Now, Son, you know this isn't for everyone," Carlisle reminded Edward.

"So, Bella, where are you from?" Esme inquired after she finished off her bottle of water.

"Oh, I live in the north—"

"Excuse me for interrupting," Peter said coming up behind us.

"No problem, Pete," Carlisle told him and stood to turn around and face his colleague. "We were just asking Bella where's she's from. What's up?"

"Well I was hoping that maybe you had something for Bree and Tanya to do. It's been hard to find things for them, given their age and level of experience."

Edward leaned over and whispered to me, "You mean refusal to do anything. Talk about two who aren't meant for this. At least if my buddy were here, he'd put forth an effort."

I lowered my head to hide the smile on my face. "That's not very nice," I whispered back, while nudging his leg with mine, all the while knowing exactly what he meant. I didn't think there was anyone here who hadn't heard them whining about the tasks they'd been asked to do.

"What," he huffed softly. "Those two girls are like two princesses far far away from their fairly-tale kingdoms."

When a cross between a snort and a giggle burst from me, I clamped a hand over my mouth and buried my face in my lap to hide the giggles I couldn't contain. He had those two pegged perfectly.

The clearing of a throat pulled our attention back to Peter and Edward's parents.

"Sorry," Edward said. I could feel the heat creeping up my neck and knew I'd be in a full blush any second. "I was just telling Bella about my friend back home."

_Thank you, Edward, for being a fast thinker, _I chanted internally.

"That's okay. Your father said that the girls might be able to help you and Bella hand out supplies," Peter stated.

"Sure," Edward replied.

I was clueless as to how he was keeping a straight face after the conversation we'd just been having.

"Great. I'll send them right over." Relief was written all over his face as he walked away. I didn't imagine it was easy for him, trying to do his job and appease his daughter and niece at the same time.

"I'm going to go check on my patients," Carlisle said. "You coming too, Dear?"

"I'll be right there. I'm going to grab another bottle of water," Esme answered.

Carlisle nodded and was off.

Edward and I started to walk away when Esme called to him. "If they get to be too much together, send Bree over to your father and me. I'll figure out something for her to do and she's less likely to give me any of her attitude."

"Thanks, Mom," he told her and gave her a quick hug.

"Well I know the two of them are only here this year because Peter and Charlotte had no other option this time. Bella, honey, your parents must be so proud of you," Esme said. She rubbed my arm and smiled sweetly at me in a way that let me know she was indeed proud of me for being here.

"Oh. I…um guess they are." I couldn't help thinking about how my parents wouldn't want to be here anymore than Bree and Tanya did and how they'd probably never understand why I was.

"Don't be so modest, Sweetie. I am sure they are."

Patting her son on the arm in support and as a sentiment of how proud she was of him, Esme was off as well.

***{SIB}***

A few hours later we were walking back to the main tent. Tanya and Bree had bolted the second they'd realized we were finished.

"Thank God we're done," Edward sighed and ran his hand through his hair. It was something I had seen him do a few times, but watching him react to Bree and Tanya's antics this afternoon, I'd noticed he did it a lot more frequently when he was frustrated.

"Isn't that the truth! Although I have to say—"

Edward cut me off grumbling, "Don't even say they weren't that bad. If I hear either of them giggle again in the next twenty years it will be too soon."

"Nope. That's not what I was going to say."

"Thank God. So what was it?"

Snickering I said, "I was just going to say how funny it was when Tanya freaked out over that bug that jumped on her."

"No, shit. Did you see how fast Bree backed away from her, afraid it was going to jump on her next?"

"All because of a cricket," I snickered again.

"Yeah, neither of them found your comment on how some cultures consider them to be good luck entertaining at all."

"No I guess they didn't."

We both laughed out loud, no doubt replaying the scene in our minds.

Edward stopped dead in his tracks. "Bella, stop, don't move."

His voice was low and serious, all the humor from a few seconds ago gone.

"What?" I asked spinning to face him. "What?" I asked again when he just stared at me.

"Turn around very slowly," he ordered in a hushed tone.

"Okaaaaay." I did as he asked.

Next thing I knew I felt his hand brush across the back of my shoulder roughly.

"Edward, what the heck are you doing?"

"Well I didn't want to freak you out, but there was a huge bug on you."

"Oh, but it's gone now right?"

"Yeah. You okay?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

His brows scrunched together as he looked at me. "Because I just told you there was a bug on you," he stated like it should be the most obvious thing in the world.

"So what?"

"So I just thought you'd react differently. That's all."

I knew what he'd done now. I was fairly certain there had never been a bug on me at all. Edward was trying to see if I'd react like Bree and Tanya had.

"You thought I'd freak out like they did over the cricket."

He didn't reply, but the grin that spread across his face said it all.

"You did!" I exclaimed and smacked him on the arm, then stood with my arms crossed over my chest waiting for an explanation.

"Maybe." The grin on his face grew even wider as he started to walk around me and continue on to the main tent.

"Oh no you don't." I grabbed the back of his t-shirt to stop him from going any further. "Why would you do that?"

He sighed and then began. "I guess I just wanted to see, okay."

"But why?"

"You're different."

"What do you mean?"

"I've…never met anyone like you. You're just completely opposite from all the girls I know, especially from those two," he said while nodding in the direction Tanya and Bree had run off in. "So I just wanted to see if you'd act like most other girls would. But you didn't."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No."

"Huh."

We both started walking again. I needed a few minutes to process what I wanted to say. I was trying to make sense of what he'd said, imagine what the girls he knew could be like that he'd pretend there was a bug on me to see if he'd get a reaction or not.

Once we'd made it to the main tent, Edward stopped by the entrance. "I'm going to go let my dad know that Mr. Gonzalez's cut looks like it's getting infected."

"Okay. I'm going to go see if I can find some clothes for those two little girls."

"See ya in a bit," he said before heading off to see his father.

Entering the smaller supplies tent, I saw Peter's wife and stopped to ask her where I could find the donated clothing. After she pointed me in the right direction, I thanked her and crossed the length of the tent to the far wall where the boxes were stacked on the floor and along the wall forming a bit of a maze.

Glancing up at the height of the wooden shelves that had been built, I decided to try my luck with the ones on the floor and lower shelves first.

A short time later I had gone through three boxes and wasn't having any luck finding something that looked like it would fit the two little girls in Tent Seventeen. Not only was I getting frustrated, but it was hot in the tent.

Swiping back the hair that had fallen out of my ponytail and then fanning myself with my hand, I looked over the shelves to see if I had missed anything. Some of the boxes were labeled and others weren't.

I saw one that was marked "kids" and a few others on the top shelf. I scanned the area around me for something to stand on so I could reach the top shelf, but I didn't find anything.

Standing on my tiptoes I tried to reach the open flap of one of the boxes. That didn't work so I tried to jump and grab it. When that didn't work eitherI decided to try and climb the shelves, thinking if I could just balance myself on the lower shelf that was about a foot, maybe a little more off the ground, I could grab the flap and pull the box down.

I quickly found out that wasn't going to work. Feeling the shelves wobble and my grip slipping off the upper shelf edge, I thought it best I got down before I ended up falling backwards hurting myself.

"Shit," I cursed as I stood and glared up at the boxes.

"You look a little flustered there, Bright Eyes."

I spun around to find Edward leaning with his back pressed against the tent support pole, his hands tucked into the front pockets of his cargo shorts, sporting a devilish grin on his face and matching glint in his eyes.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to see your Spiderman impersonation."

"You mean long enough to watch me nearly fall on my ass?"

"I guess you could look at it like that," he offered.

"So what, you were going to stand there and watch me fall. I thought for sure your parents had taught you better manners than that."

"They did."

"Like they taught you to pretend there are bugs on a girl just to see what kind of reaction you get from her," I snapped.

I hadn't meant to sound so snotty. I had meant it as more of a tease and had regretted it the instant I saw the expression on his face morph into one of remorse instead of the lighthearted teasing smirk it had been.

"You're pissed."

"Huh?" I asked, blowing the string of hair hanging in front of my eyes out of the way.

He dug his hands deeper into his pockets and moved off the support pole and took a couple of steps towards me. I could see his eyes close as he shook his head back and forth a couple of times.

"I'm sorry," he said in a remorseful tone. "I never meant to piss you off. I just…"

"Wait. You think I'm mad at you?"

"Well, yeah. You just about took my head off with that comment. So yeah I do," he said peering up at me through his lashes without fully raising his head to look at me.

"No. I'm not," I sighed. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just frustrated and I shouldn't have taken it out of you."

"You're not pissed about the bug thing?" he asked, stepping closer and fiddling with the piece of tape dangling from one of the boxes I'd already dug through.

"No," I said softly, hating I'd given him that impression.

"Then what's got you so flustered?"

I looked back and forth between him and the shelves and said, "How 'bout you get those boxes down for me and I might tell you."

"Might?"

"Please," I pouted, sticking out my bottom lip for added effect. "Think of those poor little girls."

He chuckled at my pathetic attempt to pout and moved past me to the shelves. Then as if it were as easy as breathing, he stretched out his arms and grabbed the boxes, one after the other, plopping them down at my feet.

"Thank you," I said sincerely.

I opened the box that was directly in front of me and started to dig through it.

"You're welcome, Shorty," he teased while bumping me lightly with his hip, forcing me to move over to the other box.

"So…" he prompted.

"So what?" I replied, knowing what he was getting at but trying to get back the easy going banter that usually flowed between us.

"You said if I got the boxes down you'd tell me what's _bugging_ you. I did my part so…"

I was about to shoot a sarcastic comment at him for his use of the word bugging but all that came out was, "Said I might." I was distracted, sure I had seen something familiar in the bottom of the box and dug down to find it.

"Oh no you do—"

"Ah ha!" I cheered in excitement, interrupting him as I pulled the item out of the box.

However just as fast, my excitement was ruined. "Hey!" I cried out as Edward snatched the Baltimore Orioles hat right out of my hand.

"That's mine! I found it!" I grabbed at the hat to take it back from him but he was too fast and moved it out of my reach.

"I could use a new one of these," he said, adjusting the strap on the back of the hat and setting it on his head.

"Fat chance, Buddy. I found it, not you."

I jumped up to snatch it off his head but he caught my arm with one hand and took the hat off his head with the other one and stretched his arm as high as it would go, which was completely out of my reach.

"If you can reach it, you can have it." He laughed and dangled the hat just out of my grasp.

"Ugh, why do you have to be so damn tall? You just stretch your arm up there, knowing there's no way I can jump that high."

"You didn't seem to mind my being tall a few minutes ago," he teased dipping the hat down and almost letting me grab it.

"Why do you want a Baltimore Orioles hat anyways?" I asked figuring he was one of those guys who liked baseball hats and that it didn't matter what team was on it.

He shook his head back and forth, at the same time smiling widely while he said, "You have to give me some answers first. Then I _might_ tell you why I want this hat."

_Just great, he used my own word against me. _

"Well first of all I've had a nagging headache all day, so I am sorry if that's making me crabby. I didn't mean to snap at you before."

"Okay, but I get the feeling it's more than you just being grumpy because of a headache."

"It's just…the thing with the bug…and you wanting to see how I would react."

"So you are mad. Bella, I—"

I shook my head and held my hand up for him to stop.

"I'm not mad. I am…just…I don't know. Confused," I told him as I began to search through the clothes once again, trying to think of how to best answer what I was certain he was going to ask next. And of course he did.

"Confused how?"

He took the hat from behind his back where he'd been holding it out of my reach and placed it on his head. As I looked up to answer him I couldn't help but notice how good it looked on him. His face was a little more tanned than it had been the day I'd met him on the plane and the few tufts of hair that were sticking out from under the hat had some streaks that had been highlighted by our long days in the sun so much that they had the coppery shine of a brand new penny to them. But as I continued to look at him I also saw the eagerness in his eyes for me to answer him and the short lines that had formed between his brows for the same reason.

"Really and truly I'm not mad. But you're in med school right?"

"Yeah."

"I just don't get how the girls you go to med school with can be willing to become doctors where they will see some of the goriest, grossest and bloodiest things but yet be afraid of a bug? I just can't meld the two in my head. It's baffling," I explained.

He snorted and then chuckled softly while rubbing his hand across the back of his neck a few times before taking the hat off his head and running his hand through his hair.

Putting the hat back on he said, "There you go surprising me again. That was so not what I expected you to say."

"Oh," I said looking at him curiously. "Well what did you expect?"

"Not sure. But that wasn't it. And I can't really answer how someone can want to be a doctor and see the things they will see, deal with what they will and be afraid of a bug. But I've seen it happen more than once. I've seen girls in my biology classes dissect whatever it is we were given, but they go nuts when they see a spider or whatever crawling on the floor."

"Really?"

"Really. I once saw a girl freak out when a piece of dust was floating across the floor and she thought it was a bug.

"When I said you were different from the girls, I guess I wasn't just referring to the ones that I go to med school with and even so, in med school you don't just have students in a class that are only those who want to become a medical doctor. There's a whole range of classes like psychology that we have to take that could have a wide range of students in it."

"Okay I get that," I told him.

"I guess saying girls I know was a wrong way to put it. I was wrong to assume that just because you were a girl, that you might react the same way as Bree and Tanya did."

"So why did you then?"

"You are just so different, Bella. So I guess I needed to see if you'd be different in that way too. Surely you've noticed that you are the only eighteen year old girl here."

"Yeah I have. But I am here because I want to be. I want to help."

"And I am glad that you are. I think it's amazing that you do. There aren't really any others here that are close to our ages. I'm here because I was introduced to this world at a young age. My parents were able to instill in me the desire to help those less fortunate or those in need because of their love of it. But as you can see, that doesn't always work. Bree and Tanya are perfect examples of that. They remind me of exactly the type of girl I can't stand."

"Spoiled little rich girls?" I asked knowing exactly how he felt.

"Yes. But to be more accurate, rich snobby people in general. People who think they can use their money to make others do as they please or that it makes them better than someone else because of the size of their bank account."

I was taken aback by the vicious tone of Edward's voice. His eyes were dark and he had a look of disgust on his face. I had the sinking feeling that he was speaking from personal experience and not just casual encounters he'd had with rich snobby people.

I felt my gut twist into a knot with the realization that he had described the exact type of girls I wanted to get away from this summer, and more importantly, my parents perfectly. That knot twisted even further when I had the thought that he might not want anything to do with me if he knew my background.

I was instantly torn inside. Part of me said to come clean with him and tell him the truth, but then the other part said I'd probably never see him again after this summer so why ruin the friendship or whatever it was we'd come to have even if it was only for a couple of months. I didn't know when being here with him had begun to matter so much, but I couldn't imagine having to spend the rest of my time here with him not speaking to me or worse—thinking I was something I wasn't.

"Oh there you are." Charlotte appeared from around the stack of supplies that were blocking us from being seen from the front of the tent. "I wasn't sure if you were still back here or not."

"Yeah, still digging," I said holding up a hand full of clothes.

"Well I think your dig is over," she said placing a small box on the pile next to me.

"What's this?" I asked.

"There's not a lot in there, but it's all children's clothes. I just found it in with the stuff that came in this morning."

"Wow. That's great. Thank you," I said to her.

"You're welcome. And I just wanted to say that we are happy to have you with us this summer, Bella. Maybe you'll come back again next year." She winked at me and the smile that appeared on her face as she glanced at Edward and then back to me again didn't go unnoticed at all. "Esme has been talking non-stop about what a help you've been so far."

"Oh. She has?"

"Yes. I think she's quite fond of you and would love for you to come back as well."

"That's…really great. Maybe…we'll see."

"Well, I have a lot more to do. I hope you can find something that works in this box of clothes."

"Thanks again," I told her as she turned and left.

I hadn't even thought beyond this summer. If I came back would that mean I would see Edward again? I felt that knot in my gut again and knew this was something I was going to have to really think about.

Waving his hand in front of my face to bring me out of my thoughts, Edward suggested, "Let's put these boxes back and go see what's in there that might work for those two little girls."

I watched him put the boxes back up on the shelf with as much ease as he'd taken them down. Once he was done he brushed his hands off on his shorts and asked, "You ready?"

"Sure, Stretch," I said, without even thinking about it. The word had just popped out of my mouth.

"Stretch?" he asked.

I giggled at the expression on his face. His eyes were wide, like bug eyes.

"Uh, yeah. I don't know where that came from, but it suits you." I giggled some more.

"It does?"

"Yeah," I said stepping closer to him. "You just stretch your arms up and move those boxes around like its nothing. Oh and let's not forget how you used your ability to stretch to…" I jumped up in a last ditch effort to grab the hat from him. But instead of keeping the hat away from me, he wrapped his arms around me and held me up against him.

He stared into my eyes for a moment and then a wide smile spread across his face. "Stretch huh?"

"Yeah." I tried to keep my voice steady as my heart threatened to jump out of my chest from being in his arms. "But you are really going to have to pick one nickname for me or else I am going to get a multiple personality complex."

"What do you mean?" he asked still holding on to me.

"Well, you've called me Rookie, Bright Eyes and then today, Shorty."

"It's Bright Eyes. Definitely." His voice was soft and husky and it sent chills down my spine.

He leaned in closer and started to turn his head slightly. All I could think was, is this it? Was he going to kiss me this time, when there was a loud banging sound from somewhere outside the tent, killing the moment yet again.

"Damnit," Edward muttered and released his hold on me.

I didn't know what to say. I was disappointed and I was fairly sure he was too. But I had no clue what to say in a moment like this so I didn't say anything. It was the third time he'd attempted to kiss me and the third time he'd been interrupted. I was beginning to think that maybe it was a sign. Maybe it wasn't supposed to happen.

_Oh how I wanted it to though._

I grabbed the box and we headed off to Tent Seventeen. As we walked past the main tent on our way, I glanced over at him and asked, "So why do you want that hat anyways? Wouldn't you rather have one from wherever you live?"

"It is," he said easily.

"What?" I squeaked, freezing instantly.

"It is from where I live. I'm from Baltimore. Come on, it'll be dark soon."

"You're from Baltimore?" I couldn't move as I did my best to keep my voice even and not freak out.

"Yeah, lived there all my life."

"Oh."

"Why, you got something against it?"

"Uh, no...um…Baltimore is…Baltimore is great." I started walking again and quickly moved past him, trying to hide the panic that was setting in.

"You say that like you've been there."

"Uh, yeah. I have."

"Cool, you'll have to tell me about it sometime," he said completely oblivious to the turmoil that was building inside me.

"Sure sure," I said nervously, hoping he didn't notice.

There was no way around it now. I was going to have to tell him something. Question was, how much?

I nearly tripped and fell I was so lost in my thoughts. Luckily I caught myself and when I looked up I saw we were almost to the Medina's tent. For the time being I would have to set my thoughts aside. But this was definitely something I was going to have to figure out fast.

Once there, Edward spoke in Spanish to explain to Mrs. Medina why we were there. Her two little girls' faces lit up like the brightest star in the sky as they listened to what was being said to their mother.

We helped them sort through the box and find a few things that fit each of them. They were extremely adorable with their wide brown eyes, long braids and the big smiles on their faces as they begged their mother to put some of their new clothes on. She was able to appease them by assuring them that after they washed up after dinner that they would be able to.

Edward then told them that we should head back before we missed our own dinner. They thanked us several times and Edward and I even got hugs from both of the girls. They were so sweet and so grateful it brought tears to my eyes.

Once we arrived back to the main tent Edward took the box from me, stating that he'd have his mom store it here so that it would be easier to find should any of the other children need something from it.

"How about you get in line for dinner and I'll come find you after I give this to my mom?"

"Sounds good," I said and made my way over to the line of volunteers waiting for their turn.

There were only about five people left ahead of me in line by the time Edward made his way back to me. As we got a little closer I noticed that they were serving something out of the same large pot that they used to make the oatmeal that we often had for breakfast.

While I understood the reasoning behind the oatmeal—it could be fixed in large quantities, only needed to have water added to it to make and was nutritious—and I wasn't trying to be ungrateful, but I was really hoping that we weren't being served it for dinner after having eaten it for breakfast. Because of the headache I'd been fighting all day, I hadn't eaten much at lunch and was now pretty hungry.

"Any idea what's for dinner?" I asked Edward as we stepped up to get ours.

"I think my mom said it's Lima bean soup."

"Oh, okay," I replied, feeling relieved it wasn't oatmeal and thinking that it couldn't be that bad. I'd eaten many types of beans in my life and thought what's one more.

We walked outside of the tent where the air was cooler to the cut tree stumps and sat down next to each other. Neither of us said anything as we began to eat. It had been a long day and I still had a lot on my mind. I still had to figure out what I was going to tell Edward and I was torn about how much to tell him.

Did I just tell him about my background and my parents? How I didn't want to be anything like them and hope that he believed me based on how he had gotten to know me so far? Or did I tell him everything, including how I was using a fake last name? And then there was the fact that we lived in the same town. That fact alone really blew my mind. It was something I hadn't even dared to imagine.

After a couple of small bites, I was sure I didn't like Lima beans. It wasn't so much the taste as it was the grainy texture to them. Knowing I needed to eat, I forced them down with several drinks of water to help wash the texture away. However when I was nearly finished, I took too big of a bite in an attempt to get them down faster and was unable to keep myself from gagging. Dropping my bottle of water and bowl, I leapt up off the tree stump and bolted as far as I could get before I lost the entire contents of my stomach.

A few minutes later, I heard Esme's soft voice next to me and saw a couple of paper towels in her hand from the corner of my eye. "Here, Sweetie."

"I'm sorry," I croaked in a raspy voice as I took the towels and wiped my face and mouth.

"It's okay, Sweetie." She pulled my ponytail back and then rubbed my back as I remained hunched over until I was sure I was done. "You okay, now?"

"Yeah, I think so."

She handed me a bottle of water after screwing the cap off. "Here, just take enough to rinse your mouth and spit it back out."

I did as she instructed and then thanked her.

"It's quite alright. Nothing for you to be ashamed about. I sent Edward to the medic area to get you a bottle of the Gatorade we keep in case someone gets dehydrated. He said you hadn't eaten much at lunch."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. You should probably go on up to bed. I'll send Edward with you in case you get sick again or need anything."

We met up with Edward as he was coming out of the tent. He had two bottles of orange Gatorade in his hands. Holding them up he said, "Dad said I should bring two just in case."

Esme nodded and said, "That's probably a good idea. Make sure she waits about fifteen to twenty minutes to let her stomach settle a bit and then that she sips it slowly."

Edward said good night to his mother and then looked at me and asked if I was ready. I nodded and we started walking towards the hotel.

Still holding the bottle of water Esme had given me, the first thing I did once we reached our room was brush my teeth and rinse again using the water. Drained and ready to rest, I washed up quickly and changed into something more comfortable to sleep in and then laid down on my sleeping bag while Edward got ready for bed too. I was hot and slightly sweaty, wishing like crazy for fan in that moment.

Once he was lying on his sleeping bag too, he shut off the lantern he'd lit when we'd first came into the room and we both laid there quietly until he spoke up first.

"Here, you need to keep hydrated."

I rolled over and was able to see the bottle in his hand from the moonlight streaming in the window. I took a couple of small sips and then twisted the cap back on tightly and sat it on the floor next to my sleeping bag.

Unable to get my mind to shut off, I sat up and pulled my knees up under my chin and rested it on them. Thoughts of him almost kissing me again earlier invaded my brain and I knew I needed to tell him now. I didn't know for sure how much I'd say, just decided to wing it, starting with me living in Baltimore too and go from there.

"You still awake?" I asked. His eyes were closed but I was pretty sure he was since I'd seen him moving around.

"Yeah. What's up? You okay?" He sat up and leaned against the wall under the window.

"I need to tell you something."

"Sounds serious. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." I blew out a long breath. "And it is."

Hesitantly I began telling him, hoping that once I was done, he believed me.

* * *

Don't forget to head on over to my blog to check out the picture of Edward/Stretch in his Baltimore hat. See you in two weeks with the next update.

Keep an eye open on the blog for a teaser to chapter 6. I think you all will really like what happens next time.

Thanks for being the amazing, wonderful readers that you are. Your support means the world to me. Let me know what ya think!

EA


	6. Fatherly Advice

**Happy Friday, Everyone! Since I know you are all dying to see how their talk went, I won't keep ya long. **

**Hugs and kisses from Edward to My-Bella and from Emmett to Hope4More. She likes him better. :P LOL I couldn't do this without the both of you!  
**

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

* * *

_**June 20, 2011**_

***{Edward}***

"Son, did you hear a word I said?"

"Huh? Oh yeah…I'm sorry I was just thinking about something Bella told me the other night."

"Nothing bad, I hope. You seem awfully distracted today," he remarked.

"No it's not bad at all. Actually it's really good," I told him, remembering my conversation with Bella a few nights ago. I had been blown away when she had told me she lived in Baltimore too.

When she'd first told me she needed to talk to me the other night, the shaky, nervous edge in her voice had made me worried about what she was going to say. But by the time she had finished talking, I understood why she'd been so nervous. She had been afraid I'd see her as a rich, spoiled brat like Tanya and Bree. There was no doubt I'd been a little shocked by what she'd told me about her parents and her background, but I made sure she knew it was clear she was not anything like she had described her parents to be or like Tanya and Bree. I actually thought the fact that she was so different from the lifestyle she'd grown up in made me like her all that much more.

I had been warring within myself, trying to fight my attraction to her. We were so busy here most of the time that it was easy to keep my growing feelings for her in check. But then other times, like those when I'd nearly kissed her, it was damn near impossible. I'd been so focused on thinking that once the summer was over I'd never see her again, that it had distracted me so much I hadn't even taken the time to find out where she lived. I would have never imagined in a million years that she lived in the same state, let alone the same city, as me.

However hard it was to believe, I wasn't going to deny how happy it made me. My feelings for her kept sneaking up on me, growing stronger, and now that I knew I wouldn't have to say goodbye to her come August I wasn't going to hold back anymore. I had been so frustrated each time something had stopped me from kissing her, I had even begun to think that maybe it was for the best given our impending departure, but now... now I was certain that the next chance I had to kiss her, I was going to make damn sure it happened.

I felt my dad's hand grip me firmly on the shoulder. "Look, Son, I think Bella is a wonderful girl, but she's young and—"

"Are you going to tell me she's too young for me? Because if you are, I'd like to respectfully remind you that you are nearly six years older than Mom."

"No, that's not what I was going to say."

"Then what?" I was confused what else her age could have to do with anything.

"Well judging by your defensiveness, I am not sure it matters anymore. It's seems as though you have already started some sort of relationship with her," he said instead of answering my question.

"Not exactly," I told him. "Will you tell me what her age has to do with anything?"

He sighed and ran his hand though his hair like I often did. My mother used to laugh and shake her head at us when I was younger and we had a disagreement. She would say it was often like watching a mirror image with the way both our mannerisms mimicked each other's.

"It's not so much her age per say. It's more her lack of experience. I can only guess here, but she doesn't exactly seem to be one who has a lot of relationship experiences. She comes across very innocent and I would hate to see her hurt at the end of the summer when the two of you have to say goodbye. I would hate to see it leave an impression on her because she is still a bit young. While you might be prepared to have a summer fling, I'm willing to bet that she may not be ready to handle that type of a relationship. So while I don't have anything against it, I would caution you to tread lightly."

"Then let me put your mind at ease, Dad."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he began taking inventory of the supplies he still had.

"Well, let me backtrack a little."

"Okay," he replied and stopped to give me his full attention.

"I had been very leery at first too despite the instant attraction I felt towards her. I didn't want to get involved just to say goodbye either."

"So what happened to change that?" he asked. "Because I see the way you look at her and you can't deny having more than a platonic interest in her."

"No, I can't. But like I said I was hesitant too until the other night when she told me where she lived."

"Where—" He stopped his words cold before he finished the question. I had a feeling the smile plastered across my face said it all.

"She lives in Baltimore, Dad."

He chuckled and then said, "You're kidding?"

"No. No I'm not. And more than that, the more I get to know her, the more I like about her. She really is a great girl, Dad."

"Well you don't have to convince me of that, Son. You're mother and I can both see that she is."

"So then you don't have a problem with it?"

"No. But I do have a couple of conditions."

"What?"

"Be discrete around camp. Peter won't mind the two of you being involved, but he also won't want to see the two of you carrying on either. And should things not work out before the summer is over, don't let it interfere with things here."

"I think I can handle both those conditions."

"Alright, then there is just one more thing I want to ask of you and there is no easy way to say it so I am just going to be blunt."

"Okay."

"No sex, Edward. I doubt you have brought any kind of protection with you and you don't know if Bella is using any sort of birth control method."

"Dad—"

"Let me finish first please," he requested, while holding his hand up, cutting me off before I could finish.

I nodded and waited for him to go on.

"You've only known each other a few weeks. And I know how easily things can get out of hand. But if what the two of you have is meant to be more than a summer romance, then it will be worth the wait. So are you still on board with my conditions?"

"Yes. I was only going to say, I had no intention of taking things that far while we are still here. I won't lie and say I don't find her incredibly attractive, or that that thought has never crossed my mind. But I would never disrespect her like that, Dad."

"I knew your mother and I raised you right."

"You did."

"Good. Now get to work." He smiled and gave me a fatherly smack on the back.

"Oh, Edward?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Happy birthday, Son."

"Thanks, Dad."

***{SIB}***

"Hey," Bella said coming up behind me in line for lunch. I'd been so busy I hadn't seen her all morning.

"Hey, yourself. What have you been up to so far today?" I asked as we moved ahead slowly, waiting for our turn.

"I got to paint today," she said trying to sound enthusiastic while rocking back and forth on her feet.

"Are you sure you got any on the wall?" I teased while tugging on the hem of her shirt. She had several smears of paint splashed on it, not to mention the smudge on her nose and a smattering of paint freckles on her cheeks. "The color looks cute on you."

"Ha ha," she retorted as she poked me in the chest.

"So you've been painting all morning?"

"Yeah, in the hotel rooms. I think they are going to be moving us all out into tents soon."

"That's what I heard too," I told her as I grabbed my MRE meal.

"What are these?" Bella asked when taking her own.

"They're MRE meals, which are meals ready to eat supplied by the military. We got them with the other supplies that were air dropped in yesterday."

We had been running low on supplies and other necessities and it was the easiest and quickest way for them to be delivered.

"So is it freeze-dried food like the astronauts eat or what?" she asked as we made our way outside to the tree stumps that had become our regular eating place.

"No," I replied with a chuckle. "Here," I told her holding my hand out for hers. "Let's see what you got and I'll show you how they work."

I tore open the package to see what she'd gotten inside her MRE.

"Looks like you have a good one," I said taking in the contents.

"Oh, yeah?" She leaned over closer to me, watching as I removed all the items.

"Yeah. You've got raisins, sugar cookies, cornbread, crackers, cheese spread and the piece de la resistance is…" I held the main item of the meal behind my back so she couldn't see it.

"Come on. Stop teasing me. I'm starving."

"I'm glad to see your appetite has fully returned."

"Then you should let me eat."

It had taken her a few days to get over the upset stomach she'd had a few nights ago. My dad had suspected it had been a mild virus and not just her dislike of the lima beans that had made her sick.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and plopped her chin down on them and looked up at me with the saddest and cutest fake pout I'd ever seen. Not only was she cute, but the way her bottom lip was sticking out made me want to kiss it.

I was in so much trouble. All she had to do was bat those long lashes of hers at me and stare at me with those expressive eyes of hers and I was a goner. If I wasn't careful she was going to have me wrapped tightly around her little finger. I hadn't even kissed her and she was worming her way into my heart and I felt it was beyond my control to stop her. Although I didn't think I would if I could, especially now knowing where she lived.

"Okay. Close your eyes."

She did and smiled sweetly too.

"You can open them now."

When she did, I cheered, "Ta da! You have…chili mac!" I waved my hand at the box like I was on one of those game shows where the models did the same while displaying whatever prize the contestant was trying to win that day. Her eyes widened in surprise and her smile grew wider too.

However her expression changed quickly and her forehead crinkled and her lips pursed in a look I took as confusion. "Chili mac is great. But is it already cooked? Is it like a canned food? How can there be chili mac in that little package?"

"Watch," I said.

I first showed her how to place the flameless heater and the chili mac pouch in the heating bag and then how to add water to the indicated fill line on the package. Once the right amount of water was in the package I let the heater and the pouch slide down into the water. As soon as the heater hit the water it began a chemical reaction that caused the water to start to bubble and boil. I carefully slid the bag back into the box and held it level until the box felt warm.

"Touch it," I instructed her and nodded at the small box in my hand.

"Oh wow. It's getting really warm. It's almost hot."

"Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah it is. Is that all you do?" she asked.

"Nope." I took the package and rested it against a rock on the ground. "We let it go for about ten to fifteen minutes and then it will be ready to eat."

While Bella's meal continued to cook, I got mine going since I had the same thing she did. In the meantime we both started munching on some of the other items we'd gotten with the meals.

"Oh. My. God. These cookies are _so_ good," Bella moaned.

I couldn't help laughing at her reaction, but not having had any kind of snack foods or sweets for some time now, I could completely understand how she felt.

A few minutes later our chili mac was finished. We both ate eagerly and had just finished when we heard Peter calling everyone for a meeting. Bella and I still had a few items left, including the powered drink mix that had come with our meals so we stashed them in a drawer in the medical area of the tent before joining the others for the meeting.

"Okay, listen up everyone," Peter called out to stop the chattering that was going on amongst the crowd of us. "As we all know our work is coming along nicely. I am pleased with how hard everyone has been working. I have to say this is one of the best crews I have had. Ever. Your hard work is paying off in many ways. In the three weeks we've been here, some of the people displaced by the hurricane have begun to return to their homes and many of you have graciously gone with them to help them put their homes back in order. Others have been working diligently to help the businesses along the main strip we are on get their stores in order and a couple will be ready to open once power is returned to the area."

Peter paused and took a long swig from a bottle of water and continued, "Due to the progress we're making, the hotel has asked that we now vacate the rooms they generously donated to us when we first arrived so that those rooms can now be finished as well, allowing them to finish the steps that need to be taken in order to reopen. I see those looks on some of your faces," he said with a chuckle. "You're wondering where the hell you're going to sleep now. Right?"

Everyone laughed lightly at his remarks and others were shaking their heads in agreement.

"Follow me," he ordered with a wave of his hand to back his words.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked me. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Yeah," I said leaning down a bit closer to her so I didn't spill the news to anyone else before Peter told us all. "We're moving to the tents today. Remember the big stack of them we saw on the far corner of the camp?" I asked her.

"Yes."

"That's our new home away from home."

"Oh," was her only response. Her gaze shot instantly to the ground and I was certain I had heard a hint of disappointment or dejection, maybe sadness in her voice, and I wasn't sure what that was all about. I told myself that I'd have to make sure to see if she acted different in any other way and ask her about it later.

_Like it would be hard for you to notice anything about her, Cullen. It's not like you weren't already constantly aware of everything she did anyway or readily able to read her moods. _

I shook my head at my internal musings. But I knew it was true. I was always very much aware of what she was doing and where she was. I had never been so completely enraptured by a girl before and it was overwhelming and mind boggling to me. However it didn't bother me. It just seemed natural with her, effortless to want to be around her so much and to want to know what she was doing and so on.

"So," Peter announced as he came to a stop in front of the tall pile of tents. "Our medical staff will be moving to cots in the first aid area of the main tent and there should be enough tents that there only has to be two to a tent. If for some reason there are some of you who wish to have more than two, by all means feel free to do so, however I have to request that no one is to be alone. For safety reasons everyone needs to have someone to bunk with, a buddy so to speak. So pick a partner and spend this afternoon getting settled into your new living quarters."

Everyone started talking amongst themselves and pairing off before grabbing a tent. Before anyone was out of his voice range, Peter called out one last time, "One more thing, folks. If you haven't noticed by the increase in the winds or the dark clouds out off the coast, there is a storm rolling in. My best guess is it will be here in a few hours. While we've all experienced thunderstorms at home, I don't know how many of you have ever experienced one in a tent. The tents are waterproof, which will keep everyone dry, but as I am sure we can all guess they are not the most sturdy structure. Because of this they need to be anchored properly to insure they don't blow over. If you aren't sure on how to do this, then come find me or one of the other seasoned volunteers and ask them to give you a hand."

I started to grab a tent when I glanced over at Bella and noticed her standing there chewing on her thumb. Her eyes were darting back and forth as though she was looking for something or someone.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Um…I don't know who to bunk with," she said softly, then stood there looking up at me shyly through her lashes while chewing on her bottom lip.

"What do I snore hideously, talk in my sleep, or do something really weird that I'm unaware of? Do you not want to bunk with me anymore?" I tried to make the words come out in a teasing tone, but as I said them it suddenly occurred to me that maybe she didn't want to share a tent with me.

Maybe I'd been reading her wrong all this time. I'd been looking forward to it myself, knowing at some point this summer we'd get moved to the tents. And while the hotel rooms were better than a tent, being in the room with my parents offered very little privacy. I just wanted to be able to talk to her freely, express how I felt about her and get to know her better without having to worry about her being uneasy due to them being there too.

_Yeah right. Talk, get to know her better. You keep telling yourself that, Cullen. Unless that's some new term for playing tonsil hockey with her, I ain't buying that shit. _

So I wanted to steal a kiss or two also. I didn't see any harm as long as she was willing.

"Well now that you mention it." Her face morphed into a teasing smirk.

Two could play that game. "Okay, it's cool. I get it. Maybe you'd rather share a tent with Tanya and Bree."

I grabbed the tent and started to walk past her. Once I was a few feet past her, I snuck a peek over my shoulder at her. She was standing there, all the color drained from her face, with a shell shocked, almost mortified look on it.

I had no clue what kept me from walking any further away, but I just couldn't make myself leave her standing there. When a huge gust of wind blew and a faint rumble of thunder was heard off in the distance, I knew I was running out of time to get the tent set up and I had already spied a spot that I didn't want to lose. The storm appeared to be a slow mover, but I knew that could change.

Not wanting to waste time, I flung the bag containing the tent over my shoulder and went back to Bella. Thinking back to the conversation I'd had with my dad this morning I remembered his words about Bella being young and innocent, how she might be viewing things—being a young woman sharing a tent with me, that it might make her seem a bit forward to those around us, or make her feel awkward admitting she wants to be alone in a tent with me. With those thoughts I realized just how new all of this was to Bella. Not that I was used to sharing a tent with girls, because I wasn't, I usually hung with my parents, but of course Bella had no way to know any of these things.

Taking her hand in mine and locking my eyes on hers, I asked softly trying to convey what I wanted without coming off overbearing, "Bella, would you like to share a tent with me? Is that something you'd be comfortable with?"

"Well…yeah. But…"

Another gust of wind swirled around us. "Come on, we can talk while you help me pitch the tent." She nodded and I tugged gently on her hand in encouragement. "This way," I told her, pointing towards two palm trees with a fairly level area of ground between them.

"Why here?" she asked looking back and forth between the trees and me.

"You'll see. Ever go camping or set up a tent before?"

"Nope."

"Well we are going to use these two trees to anchor the tent to," I explained. I could see the look of understanding spread across her face instantly.

"So what do you need me to do to help?"

"First we need to get the tent out of the bag, unfold it and get it laid out on the ground."

We got to work. It didn't take long, maybe twenty minutes, considering the tent was small and only had two poles to support it. Once we had the tent erected, we had to wait our turn to use one of the three hammers that were being passed around camp to drive the anchors into the ground.

"What now, do we just sit and wait?" Bella asked leaning against one of the trees our tent sat between.

"We could or we could go up to the room and bring down our stuff to save time," I suggested.

"Let's go," she returned, looking up at the sky. More clouds were rolling in. My best guess was we had about two or three more hours before the storm hit.

It took us a short time to gather our things back in the room, and we also grabbed the goodies left from our lunch as well. Once we returned to the camp area we only had to wait a few minutes longer for a hammer. After the tent was securely anchored, I pulled a bundle of rope out I had stashed in my stuff. After cutting the rope with my pocket knife I carried with me all the time, I looped it through the front tie-down spots on each side of the tent and then tied each side of the ropes to each of the trees, giving the tent an additional layer on anchoring.

"I suppose you do know what you're doing after all," Bella harassed me playfully, while tugging on the tent structure and finding very little give. As long as the two trees remained standing, there was very little chance of our tent going anywhere.

"I told you I did. I can't believe you'd doubt me," I told her arrogantly just to rile her up.

"Cocky ass."

I snorted at her and walked over behind her and leaned down right next to her ear, whispering, "It's not cocky if I can back it. It's called being confident, Bright Eyes." I could have sworn I heard her whimper softly as she turned her head and gazed up at me. Her eyes were full of emotion.

_Oh, Bright Eyes, I am becoming more and more certain that I have just as much an effect on you as you do me._

I wanted to lean even closer to her and kiss her that very second, but my father chose that moment to join us. Walking up to us, he asked, "All set?"

"Yeah. How is everyone else doing?" I inquired.

"Good for the most part," he replied before turning his attention to Bella. "Bella, please don't feel obligated to share a tent with Edward just because you roomed with us in the hotel. I am sure we could find you a spot with a couple of the other women if you'd prefer."

"Um…no. I'm…okay here with Edward, as long as it's okay?" Her cheeks were already pink from helping set up the tent and the warm temperature, but I noticed them darken slightly from my father's question.

"Yes, it is. I just wanted to make sure."

"Thanks. I…uh appreciate that."

"Well if the two of you are all set here, we could use your help with a couple of things."

"Sure," we both chimed at the same time causing my dad to shake his head and chuckle at us.

"Bella, if you would go help Esme and the others get some stuff switched around in the first aid are so there is more room for the cots, that'd be great."

"Oh sure, no problem," she said and was off.

"Come on, we need to help make sure everyone's tent is anchored properly," he then said to me.

***{SIB}***

We made the rounds and once we were finished the storm was getting closer. They handed out a second MRE to everyone to take back to their tents, given by the time dinner time was here we'd probably all be stuck in our tents, waiting out the storm. Peter had informed everyone that we'd probably be done for the day since the weather reports they had been able to receive had the storm system and rain hanging around for the rest of the day once it hit. I could already feel a shift in the air temperature and knew it wouldn't be long now, maybe an hour at the most.

After helping my dad check on a few of the elderly people displaced by the hurricane, I took my MRE and an extra bottle of water I'd managed to snag back to the tent. I had only caught a glimpse of Bella when the MREs were being handed out so I figured she was still being kept busy by my mom. Having a rare bit of free time, I removed my shoes and socks, then dug the Nerf football I had out of my bag and headed down to the beach.

It wasn't often free time was to be found during one of these volunteers stints. With the incoming storm the daylight was almost gone, only allowing a few thick rays of the sun to break through. It was a beautiful sight to see just those few breaks of sun refusing to give up for as long as they could. Soon the little remaining light would be overcome by the clouds and the sky would be completely dark and gray. I remembered seeing a large rock on the beach earlier in the day and thought it'd be the perfect spot to watch the storm roll in.

I headed in the direction where I'd seen it and tossed the ball back and forth between my hands as I wandered on down the beach the short distance until I found the spot I'd been searching for. Sitting down on the rock, I sat there tossing my ball up in the air and catching it while watching the water and a few seagulls dive down for a last minute snack before they flew off to wherever their nest was. The waves were bigger than they'd been earlier and were getting choppier too. Out of nowhere a huge gust came in off the water and nearly took my hat with it so I flipped it around so the bill was at the back, preventing the wind from scooping it off my head.

"Mind if I join you?" I heard coming from behind me.

"Depends," I replied, glancing briefly back behind me to Bella before looking back out at the water. I couldn't hide the smile that grew on my face from knowing she'd found me.

"Yeah? On what?" she asked, now standing right next to me. I could feel my heart beat faster just having her so close.

Taking advantage of the little bit of dry daytime left, and wanting to enjoy the free time we had, I hopped up off the rock and called out to her, "If you can catch this." Then without warning I flicked my wrist and flung the football at her.

She managed to catch it and we began tossing the football around, running in and out of the surf and laughing at each other as we tried to purposely make each other land in the water when we caught the ball.

On her next time tossing me the ball, she overthrew it, causing me to run out into water that was almost thigh deep to catch it. I thought for sure I was going to land flat on my back in the water due to the angle at which I had to catch the ball. However I managed to jump up and snatch the ball perfectly in mid air. Only problem was doing so had cost me my hat.

"Shit!" I shouted as my hand darted out to latch onto it while struggling to hold on to the ball and maintain my balance in the choppy waves. But the wind had it this time, snatching it off my head like an invisible hand and blowing it right past Bella before dropping it on the beach behind her.

She stood there laughing at me. "What's the matter? Arm not long enough to _stretch _out there and get it?"

She'd taken to calling me 'Stretch' since we'd found the hat the other day and I had been pretending I wasn't exactly sold on the nickname, but I had a feeling by the way my lips twitched and threatened to smile every time she used it, she knew just how much I secretly loved it. She had told me that since I'd given her a nickname—Bright Eyes—it only seemed fair I have one too. I had to admit I did like it and the fact that I was nearly a foot taller than her, what she'd chosen made complete sense.

I felt a wide grin spread across my face, there was no trying to fight it this time when she hollered, "I'll get it for you." She was going to get it alright. Either she'd give me my hat back or she was going into the water too, maybe both. I was already soaked so I had nothing to lose.

"Go ahead," I called back to her, with a grin rivaling that of the Cheshire Cat, no doubt giving away I was up to something. I was certain she knew it too from the look of caution that overcame her pretty face.

She picked the hat up and stood back, careful not to get any closer to the water than she had to, which was pretty smart of her to do without knowing what I was planning.

Brushing the sand off of it, she started to walk a little closer. I started making my way towards her as well. I wasn't worried about luring her into the water because I knew I could easily pick her up if I needed to. I had every intention of letting her go if she readily gave the hat back to me, but with each step closer she got to me, I saw a flicker of something in her expression that told me she was up to something as well. I had a feeling we were in for round two of whose hat it was, like the other day when we'd found the Baltimore Orioles hat with the items that had been donated.

The look on her face had been priceless when I had snatched it out of her hand and pulled it from the box it had been in. Holding it up over her head and teasing her had been fun too. She hadn't had a chance of being able to jump high enough to get the hat from me. It was virtually impossible for her to reach given the differences in our heights. Although she had been extremely frustrated, I could tell that she had loved every minute of it as well, especially when she'd dubbed me with my nickname. As much fun as I'd had that afternoon, it had been equally frustrating for me too. I'd damn near had my chance to kiss her then but once again we had been interrupted.

"You know, Stretch," she said to me, pulling me from my thoughts. Bella began to wade through the water getting even closer to me. She was being incredibly brave at the moment. "I found this hat and you stole it from me. I'm not sure I want to give it back to you."

I knew she was up to something. "Yes you do," I called to her.

"No, I don't think so," she replied and started to take small steps backwards. As she did I began taking even longer strides towards her. I pretended like I was going to lunge at her any second in an attempt to fake her out so I could grab her. My heart began to race in anticipation of catching her. In that moment it felt like I wanted to catch her more than I had wanted anything in my life.

She must have sensed what I was planning, because she spun and ran as fast as she could.

"Bella, you can't outrun me," I shouted at her as I picked up my pace.

I could see her head twitch to the side as she ran. It was as if she was fighting the urge to look over her shoulder and see where I was. She was probably afraid I'd be much closer than she wanted me to be. Little did she know, well maybe she did, that I'd be a lot closer very soon.

"I don't need to outrun you, just outmaneuver you," she hollered back to me.

But she was beginning to lose steam and her pace was starting to slow. She turned around, looking to see where I was, slowing herself down even more and that's when I knew I had my chance.

"Gotcha!" Unfortunately though all I'd done was graze the back of her shirt. Lucky for her I wasn't able to get a firm grasp on her shirt and she was able to dart to the left, making me miss.

_Damn little minx was more agile than I thought she was. _

However when she did she had run directly towards the water. There was no way she could keep going or she was either going to end up in water much deeper than I wanted to be or caught by me. Either way she was busted.

She stopped. It appeared as though she was taking a few seconds to try and catch her breath. She looked up and noticed that I had stopped too. I was watching her like a hawk to see what she was going to do next and I could tell she was studying me to figure out what my next move was going to be.

"You ready to give me my hat back now?" I asked holding my gaze on her the best I could. It was a bit difficult considering I had to squint and squeeze my eyes together against the mist that was now blowing around in the wind.

"Maybe," she teased.

"Maybe? You're trapped. No matter which way you go I'll catch you."

She backed up a little until the water was about calf deep, hiding her feet from me and preventing me from seeing which direction she might take off in. But I quickly caught on to what she was doing. Every time the water washed in, she moved to the right just a little more.

"Bella, why can't you just give me the hat and make things easy on yourself?"

"You mean easy for you?" she panted, still out of breath.

"No, easy for you because when I get my hat back from you I am going to throw you over my shoulder and dump you in the water," I threatened while stalking even closer to her, flashing her what I was sure was a mischievous grin.

She was hesitating, like she was contemplating her odds. It was almost like she was considering giving up.

_Come on Bright Eyes, _I thought_. Just come on over here and give in and I promise to make it very much worth your while when I kiss you like you've never been kissed before. Or at least that's what I hope._

"Okay, I give up. Come get your hat."

"Really?" I asked slightly shocked. Sure it was what I wanted, but I hadn't really expected it.

"Really," she said while holding the hat out in front of herself like a peace offering.

I closed the distance between us and took the hat from her hand. She began walking out of the water, but no sooner had she moved past me, I reached out to grab her and just barely missed her arm.

"Not so fast there," I told her.

"Oh, no," she said holding her hands up in surrender mode. "You got your hat back. You don't get to dump me in the water now."

"I never said I wouldn't if you turned it over willing, now did I?"

She froze. I could see her replaying my words in her head, hoping that I had said I wouldn't if she returned the hat.

"Shit," she muttered. "You can't do that to me."

"Why not?"

"Well…well…" she stuttered trying to come up with a good reason. "Because it would be mean and I gave the hat back like you wanted. And… And besides, you deserved it after the way you took it from me. You know it really should be my hat. I found it," she told me while crossing her arms over her chest and pretending to be way more confident than she actually was at the moment.

"You're right," I sighed. I reached up and smoothed my hair back out of my face so I could put the hat back on my head. "Truce?" I offered holding my hand out for her to shake on it.

"Truce," she returned and held her hand out too.

She took my hand in hers and we shook on it. She was just about to slip her hand from mine and turn to walk away when I tightened my grip on it.

"No, no, no," she squealed as I started tugging her towards the water.

"Oh, yes. You're going in," I growled at her playfully.

In the next instant she pulled as hard as she could, trying to get away. Suddenly though, she lost her footing, pulling us both down and I found myself lying in the sand on top of her.

Neither of us moved, we just stared into each other's eyes. She bit her lip as I watched the expression on her face change from one of shock and surprise to something else, something that looked like anticipation. God I hoped it was, because I thought _this is it_. No one was around us and I was going to do it. I was going to kiss her and nothing was going to stop me this time.

I brought my hand up and gently caressed her face before sliding it behind her head so it was cradled in my hand. She was so damn beautiful. I felt her chest rapidly rise and fall almost as if she was having trouble breathing. I wondered if it was from the weight of me being on her, or purely from the closeness of our current position. We'd never been in such an intimate position excluding the night she fell in the shower and I couldn't deny the effect it was having on my own breathing.

Her face was right there, just a few inches away while her eyes remained locked on mine. Leaning even closer, I brushed my nose along hers. She closed her eyes briefly before they fluttered back open and found mine. A rush of emotion hit me as I became fully aware of the fact that I was finally about to kiss her. It thrilled me and terrified me all at once and made me feel alive like a current of electricity was surging through me.

Trying to remain calm, I closed my eyes and struggled to relax. It was hard to do given I felt so charged as if I could jump right out of my skin.

I sucked in a deep breath. "Bella," I whispered so softly I wasn't sure she'd heard me over the sound of the water crashing against the shore.

Slowly I opened my eyes. My lips were now hovering directly above hers, so close that just the slightest movement would cause them to brush against each other.

I stared into her eyes for a moment longer to see if there was any hesitation on her part. When I couldn't find any, I whispered, "There's something I've been dying to do since I first saw you on the plane."

"What's that?" she whispered back.

"This," I said before lightly brushing my lips against hers. We continued slowly at first, but soon one soft brush led to another and gently our lips began to move in unison gliding back and forth together. It was natural, easy and felt so right as if we'd done it a million times. Slowly I swept my tongue across her bottom lip, silently asking for permission to deepen the kiss. She didn't hesitate at all in parting her lips for me. As our tongues tangled together, I thought I'd died and was kissing an angel.

Her left hand clung to my arm that was planted in the sand partially supporting me so I didn't crush her beneath me, while her right hand slid up my chest and around my neck until her fingers were rooted snugly in my hair. I just kept kissing her and kissing her, never wanting to stop until I absolutely had to due to lack of oxygen.

I was dizzy from the thrill of kissing her and couldn't help wondering if it was possible to get high from kissing someone because that sure in the hell was what it felt like. And unless I was completely mistaken, the rapid rise and fall of her chest along with the raspy breaths she was pulling and the flushed tint to her cheeks, she was just as affected by our kiss as I was.

"That was perfect," I murmured to her as I placed another soft kiss on her lips.

"It was," she agreed while snuggling her face into the crook of my neck and holding on to me tightly.

Suddenly as if it had been holding off just for us, the skies opened up and rain poured down on us. Lightning ripped through the clouds and thunder boomed so loud it made the ground shake.

"Come on," I yelled, popping up and holding my hand out to her.

She grabbed my hand and I pulled her up and with them still locked together we took off running for our tent.

Once inside the dry confines of our new living space, we were both quickly aware of the fact that even though my parents weren't here there was a lot less privacy. We took turns facing the tent wall so that each of us could dry off and put dry clothes on. I had thought seeing her naked the night she slipped in the shower had been difficult to resist sneaking a second peek, but myself and certain parts of my body were finding it even more difficult to not turn around and see her as she changed.

Somehow though I remained a gentleman and after we'd both finished, we laid together on our sleeping bags playing our own version of twenty questions.

I had thought learning she lived in the same city as me was amazing, but I was beyond stunned and excited to find out that she would also be attending the same school as me come August. To find out that she wanted to be a nurse gave me even more insight into why someone her age would willingly want to spend their summer helping those in need. It was ingrained in who she was to want to help and take care of those that needed it.

It wasn't long before it was completely dark. "Do you want me to turn on the flashlight or the lantern?" I asked her.

"No," she answered softly from her spot right in front of me. We were lying on our sides facing each other as we continued to learn more about each other.

I didn't know for sure how much time had gone by, but the camp grounds were silent, save for the sounds of the storm and our soft chatter. We had learned each other's favorite colors, foods, TV shows, music preferences and so much more including each other's birthdays. She told me all about her best friend Alice and I told her all about Emmett.

"I wish I'd known it was your birthday," Bella whispered as she toyed with the buttons on the shirt I was wearing. It was my black, white and gray, very worn flannel shirt that I took everywhere with me. I had on more than one occasion always found a need for it and with this storm cooling the temperature significantly, this trip was no different.

"Why?" I asked her. "What would you have done?"

"I don't know. Maybe tell you happy birthday first thing this morning when we woke up or I might have shared my sugar cookies with you." She was quiet for a second and then started giggling.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she shook her head and laughed harder.

"Obviously some thought you are having is very entertaining. Now I am ordering you to share," I said tapping her on the nose.

"And if I don't?" She raised a defiant eyebrow at me while pursing her lips to keep a straight face.

I grabbed her hands and pinned them over her head with one hand then said, "Then I will just have to use these," I wiggled the fingers on my other hand at her, "and tickle you until you tell me."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh but I would, Miss Hale," I assured her.

She shook her head furiously at me as if to again say she didn't think I'd do as I'd threatened. So I immediately did just that. My hand dove down to her side and the second my fingers went to work tickling her, she was squirming and squealing for me to stop and finally caved.

"Okay, okay, okay. I give. I'll tell you. Just stop _please,_" she begged, trying to catch her breath.

"You got two seconds before I start round two," I told her.

"It's nothing really. I just had a silly thought for a second that maybe I could have convinced everyone to sing happy birthday for you." She giggled again.

I snickered at her. "I think I'm a bit old for that, don't you?"

"Yes because at twenty-three you're such an old man." She gave me a playful shove causing me to roll onto my back.

Then an idea occurred to me. I rolled back up on my side then over so that I was nearly lying on top of her. I draped my leg over both of hers, effectively trapping her.

"Hmm, there is one thing you could do for me since it's my birthday."

"What's that," she said in a breathy voice.

Closing the distance between her, I was so close our noses were touching. "You could give me another kiss to celebrate it."

She didn't say anything. Instead she raised her head and pressed her lips to mine. As impossible as it seemed they were even warmer and softer than they'd been just a little while ago on the beach. We got lost in the kiss and were soon wrapped around each other. But when her leg slid up and hitched around mine and I was suddenly fighting the urge to grind against her, I knew we had to stop and slow things down. I had no clue how experienced she was, or wasn't for that matter, and there was no way either of us were ready for things to go any further. Hell we'd just shared our first even if my body was screaming at me that it had been far too long since I'd been with a woman, there was no way it was going to happen on this island. If things continued to develop between us as they had so far, then my next step would be to tell her I wanted to keep seeing her once we were back in Baltimore.

I pulled away, breaking the kiss. "I think that might have been the best kiss I've ever had," I said softly as I got a hold on my raging hormones.

"I _know_ it's the best one I've ever had," she admitted, which made me smile and internally do a fist pump, knowing her best kiss had come from me.

We just laid there quiet for a while listening to the sounds of the storm before we began to talk some more and share some more kisses, though they weren't as intense as the last one had been. Talking with Bella came very easily. I wanted to know everything about her and have her know about me. We only paused briefly when I noticed she had begun to shiver. I took off my flannel shirt and gave it to her to put on so she'd stay warm.

After we settled back down into a comfortable position, I remembered what I wanted to ask her about earlier. "Hey, I meant to ask you earlier, but forgot. Why did it seem you were upset when we first found out about moving to the tents today?"

"Oh that," she mumbled then really fast she blurted out, "I didn't want to have to share living quarters with anyone else."

"If that's the case then why did you hesitate at first when the time came?"

"Because as much as I was hoping to share a tent with you, I didn't want to just assume that you wanted that too and I didn't know if it would look bad or what your parents would think."

"First of all, my parents both really like you. And they know that I do too."

"They do?"

"Yeah. And then second we're both adults, Bella. As long as we don't do anything to embarrass them, Peter or the Red Cross, they aren't going to say anything about our personal relationship."

"I guess I never thought about it like that."

"Well it's true. My dad even had a chat with me this morning about us."

"He did?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Stop freaking out. It's no big deal. He just asked about my feelings for you and asked that if we did start some kind of relationship that we remain discrete, which goes along with what I just told you. So don't worry."

She nodded in understanding.

As the evening wore on we ate and talked for a little bit more. As we got tired and laid back down, I found myself playing with her long braid and before I knew it I had completely untwined her hair and was running my fingers through it.

"Mmm," she hummed. "I love having my hair played with. It's always been so relaxing to me."

"It's so soft. I don't think I've seen you with it down though since I met you on the plane. I like it down."

"It's too hot to keep it down," she told me.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. I think we should probably get some sleep. There will be extra work tomorrow since we had to stop early today."

"Yeah, I suppose there will."

When we both started yawning, I rolled Bella over and pulled my sleeping bag up over us both. I slid my arm around her and snuggled up against her even closer.

"Good night, Bright Eyes,"

"Good night, Stretch."

I gave her one last kiss and closed my eyes to allow sleep to set in. As I started to drift off the last thought that floated through my mind was _this was the best birthday ever._

* * *

**So...was it worth the wait? I sure hope so. **

**Last year I donated a one shot to the Fandom for Luekemia and Lymphoma Society-Fandom4LLS fundraiser. Our amazing and wonderful fandom raised $5,400 for this most deserving cause. We'd like to beat that amount this year and hope that all of you, our fantastic readers, will help us do that. All it takes is a $5.00 donation to get the entire compilation. So far this year over 40 Twilight authors have signed up to contribute to the compilation, including many who signed up last year and some new ones as well. And for those of you out there who are Hunger Games fans too, they have also expanded the compilation to include those authors and stories as well. My-Bella and myself are both donating Twilight one-shots again this year and hope you can help us with this extremely worthy cause. **

**For more information, the link is on my profile page and on my blog as well. I tried to put it here but FF's software kept deleting it.  
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**Thanks so much for reading. I can't wait to see what you all thought.  
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**Until next time,  
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**EA  
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	7. In The Jungle

**Happy Friday! I was so thrilled that everyone loved Stretch and Bright Eyes' first kiss as much as I did.  
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**As always my undying thanks to My-Bella and Hope4More. You guys rock! Not only do you keep me on my toes with my writing, but you guys are amazing friends as well. Mwah!  
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**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

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**July 8****th****, 2011**

***{Bella}***

"Be careful up there," I told Edward as I glanced up at the steep roof of the Rodriguez family's small home. I was sure it was probably much sturdier than it looked, but the large section that had been ripped away in the storm left it appearing quite weak.

"I will," he promised. "See you in a bit for lunch." He quickly snuck a small peck on my lips and went around to the back of the house to help the others prepare to fix the roof.

Supplies had been hauled up here yesterday since our group had limited use of an old pickup truck one of the locals had, and right after breakfast this morning about half of all the volunteers made the mile walk to the small village where many of those who'd been in our camp lived. We would be going back and forth over the next several days to do what repairs we could on each of the homes that had been damaged. Now that power was being restored to the area everyone was anxious to return to their homes. Today we were beginning with the Rodriguez family's home.

Those of us here had split into three groups. One was working on the roof, another on the inside, and the rest of us were clearing tree limbs and other debris that had been left behind from the storm. I was among those working in the yard and it was a miracle I hadn't dropped dead from heart failure. While it was hot and humid and the sun was beating down on us like a ball of fire, the problem wasn't caused by the work I was doing. No the problem, if that's what you'd call it, was what Edward was doing to me.

Somehow each time I paused, even for just a second, he'd catch me checking him out in his sweat drenched t-shirt that was clinging to him like a second skin, showing off his nicely defined chest, abs, and biceps. I swore he had some sort of Jedi mind powers because every time he'd look back, flashing me that sexy smile of his with an equally sexy glint in his eyes, it made my heart take off like it was on a high speed chase. I kept expecting it to leap right out of my chest it was beating so fast. A couple of times I even had to fight the urge to place my hand over it in an attempt to hold it in place from the pounding sensation.

_Thank goodness my face was already flushed from the hot weather or everyone here would know I was gawking at Edward by the blush I was sure was staining my cheeks. _

The only thing that felt as though it could outrun the beating of my heart was our time here together. It felt like it was flying by. The past several days since Edward and I had begun sharing a tent seemed to go by in a blur and I wanted it to slow down. If it came to a complete standstill I'd be completely content with that. I didn't want to lose our quiet talks in between kisses or our walks on the beach, and I had gotten really used to sleeping in his arms and I definitely didn't want that to go away. I only had roughly three more weeks left here with Edward and I didn't want it to end. I told myself repeatedly that we would continue seeing each other once we were back in Baltimore; not only did we live in the same city, but over the last several days we'd gotten to know each other even better and we'd discovered that we'd also be attending the same school. Granted we'd be in different programs, but the fact that they were both medical related meant we'd be in the same area of the school thus increasing the chance of us bumping into each other from time to time. Plus there was always the possibility of having lunch together and sharing study time.

The rational part of my brain said it only made sense things between us wouldn't end in a couple of weeks since he'd been so happy when he'd found out where I lived. I'd even grown much closer to his parents, especially his mom. Esme had been thrilled to learn that I was going to nursing school and had even begun to show me how to do some things like taking a patient's blood pressure, and had given me tips on ways to make starting IVs and giving shots easier. But still, the less rational side was chanting that even though things were great now, he hadn't actually come right out and said that was what he wanted. And of course there was still the issue of me having to tell him about my last name.

_Not looking forward to that._

I held on to the hope that once I explained to him exactly why I'd done it, he'd understand. Especially since he knew how different I was from my parents. The fact that he was so understanding about why I wanted to be here and hadn't told him where I lived right away, gave me hope that once back in Baltimore, even if he was initially mad at me for keeping it from him, he'd see it really had to be done. I hated keeping it from him, but I was terrified that Peter would somehow find out and I'd be forced to go home. It wasn't that I didn't trust Edward, I just felt safer being the only one who knew. Besides, if he didn't know he couldn't be accused of knowing and hiding it because of our relationship.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, I began to sweat more from the heat and work I was doing. I was reminded of last night when I'd pulled the collar of my t-shirt up and wiped the trickles of sweat that were running down my neck away. It had stung slightly due to the tender skin on the left side of my neck being mildly irritated from Edward's lack of regular shaving. He had become quite fond of nuzzling and kissing the area just below my ear down to my collar bone and as a result it was slightly irritated.

Things had become more intense when we were alone in the tent at night and over the past few nights our kissing and cuddling sessions had progressed to more of a make-out session. However I felt like Edward was warring within himself, fighting to hold back from taking things too far. Not that I was anywhere near being ready to move things along too fast myself, but a couple of times he'd move one of his hands a certain way, like sliding it under my shirt until it was just below my breasts. I'd feel his fingers twitching ever so slightly like he wanted to move them up even further, but just when I thought he was going to, he'd slide it back behind me and just hold me tighter.

I sighed like a love sick fool and smiled to myself, knowing I had become just as fond of our alone time too. He stirred feelings and emotions in me that I'd never felt before, that were sometimes so overwhelming I thought they would swallow me whole. It made me wonder if this was normal. Did he feel this way too? Was it just because I was so inexperienced when it came to boys, men and relationships? I was making myself dizzy trying to figure it all out.

After wiping the sweat from my face too, I got back to work. There was so much to do. The damaged roof had let a lot of water into the house causing a huge mess. Today in addition to repairing the roof and cleaning, we would remove what was damaged including walls, flooring and furniture. Tomorrow we would come back with more supplies to repair as much of the interior as we could.

Looking around, I hoped that it wouldn't be too hard for the Rodriguez family to replace the furnishings that they had lost. Most of the damage to their home was caused by water due to the torrential rains and flooding. Most of the wind damage was limited to the coastal areas and this home was further inland. Sitting at the base of a large hill and next to a creek, the combination of runoff water and the prolonged downpours made their home an easy target once the creek flowed well beyond the confines of its banks.

However even with all they had suffered, the Rodríguez family, and several others like them, were still very lucky that the hurricane had not come completely ashore. It had only glided along the coast, sparing them the fury of the eye wall, and keeping it from unleashing its full power upon them. That fact alone had saved them and the rest of the inhabitants on this side of the island from suffering losses that were even more horrible.

As the morning wore on, we continued to work. I had just finished dragging a large tree branch across the yard to the growing pile of limbs when I suddenly felt a warm breath against my ear and heard Edward speaking in a low tone. "You ready for some lunch, Bright Eyes?"

I jumped slightly, not only from being startled by his sudden appearance behind me, but from the tingling sensation his voice caused to vibrate throughout me. "You're going to give me a heart attack," I told him, feeling my heart bounce in my chest again.

He chuckled, resting his chin on my head and his hand on my hip. Even through the material of my shorts, his touch caused what felt like sensory overload inside me.

_God help me if we ever had sex. I'd explode for sure._

Where the hell had that thought come from? I had never really given much thought to how, where or when I'd ever have my first sexual experience, in fact I'd thought more about how to avoid it. Of the few guys I'd dated, only one had ever gotten anywhere and he'd only made it to second base, very briefly and only once, before I'd stopped him. And because it had felt all kinds of wrong, it had never happened again. The relationship had ended quickly and I had never questioned it because it had felt all wrong. But with Edward…my hormones felt like they were in overdrive for the first time in my life, and it was hard to try and rein that in. My head knew we were nowhere near ready for that, but my body had other ideas and I was certain from the reaction I'd felt in his body, that his did too.

"Why? Did I scare you or something?" he asked innocently, with a grin on his face that told me he'd felt me jump.

"Mm, something," I mumbled, suspecting he knew exactly the reactions he caused in me.

"Come on," he urged, pulling on the belt loop of my shorts. "I saw a shady spot where we can eat while I was up on the roof."

After grabbing our MREs and a bottle of water, I followed Edward to the spot he mentioned. It was a really great grassy area completely shaded by the canopy of the surrounding trees. We sat down and leaned against one of the trees and enjoyed the light breeze and cooler air the area offered.

The best part about the spot Edward had found was that we were far enough away from the others that once we were finished eating, we were able to have a few minutes alone and sneak in a few kisses. I'd practically become addicted to his kisses and didn't think I'd ever get enough of them.

We sat there quietly for a few more minutes. Our hands were clasped and my head was resting on his shoulder. It was really nice to sit with him and not feel the need to fill it with constant conversation. Any awkwardness or weirdness I'd felt that first day on the plane and on the bus trip across the island was gone. I was completely comfortable around him. Being with him was easy as breathing. A feeling I had only ever felt around Alice.

Sooner than we would have liked we heard movement coming from back near the Rodriguez home, telling us it was time to get back to work. "We should go," Edward whispered. Placing a kiss on the top of my head, he stood and offered his hand to help me up.

"I don't want to," I said out loud for the first time. I'd had the thought many times over the last several days, wanting to spend all my time with him instead of working. But I knew how important our work here was and so until now I had kept my thoughts to myself.

"I know." He pulled me into his arms and hugged me. "We'll have time alone tonight and every night for the next three weeks." I nodded, not moving my head from where it was pressed against his chest. "And soon we'll be back in Baltimore where hopefully we both have more free time."

I turned my head to look up in his eyes. It was the first time he'd mentioned anything beyond our time here and I needed to see it in his eyes. It wasn't that I didn't believe him, but wanting it so badly I guess I just needed to see his sincerity in his eyes to know it was real and I wasn't dreaming it up. I was instantly rewarded with what I'd been seeking. There was nothing but truth and emotion filling his expression.

"You're right," I told him. I rose up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. Taking his hand, I pulled him back to the house. Somehow my brain had the notion that the faster we worked, the more we'd get done and the sooner we'd fly home and begin the next phase of our relationship.

_Shut up, _I told myself when a little voice told me I had the same number of days left here no matter what. No amount of work was going to change that.

We'd only been back to work for about half an hour when Charlotte, Peter's wife, showed up with Mr. Martinez. He was the local with the pickup truck that had delivered the first round of supplies here at the house yesterday.

"Bella, have you seen Edward?" she asked as she approached me.

"Yeah," I replied and turned around pointing up at the roof.

"Thanks," she said. I watched as she made her way over to the house and hollered out to Edward.

Trying not to appear as if I was watching Edward and Charlotte talk, I was doing exactly that. Granted I was not an experienced person in this field, but I was certain she must have had a good reason for coming here and not waiting until we got back to camp later. I found myself saying a silent prayer that his parents were okay. It was the only thing that seemed important enough to me that would bring her here.

They talked briefly and then they both came my way. Charlotte kept going past me to Mr. Martinez's truck but Edward stopped. "What's wrong?" I asked seeing a frustrated look on his face.

"I have to go back to camp."

"Why?"

"Not sure. Charlotte just said that my father needs me and that I need to go with her now."

"Oh wow. I hope everything is okay," I told him.

"I'm sure he probably just needs help with a patient or something. I'll see you back at camp later."

"Okay."

He squeezed my hand as he walked by and winked at me as he climbed into the bed of the old truck for the ride back to camp. I smiled and waved as the truck backed down the narrow, tree lined drive leading to the house. When he was out of sight, I got back to work.

***{Edward}***

The ride back to camp was much shorter than the walk, only taking a few minutes. I hated walking away from Bella without kissing her goodbye. It felt all kinds of wrong but I also knew it would not have been a good idea to do so. My father had asked us to keep a low profile with our relationship and so far I was pretty sure we'd done a good job of that. So to have kissed her right in front of Charlotte would not have been a smart move.

As soon as the rickety old truck came to a stop, I hopped out of the back and headed straight for the medical area of the main tent expecting to find my father busy with an unexpected influx of injured people. I had seen it happen before. Sometimes in natural disasters people were afraid to venture out from the place they had sought shelter in until a need so great arose and it became absolutely necessary for them to so, or they waited until they'd seen or heard about signs of things returning to normal to give them a sense of security in leaving what had become a safe haven for them. I had even seen groups of survivors discovered holed up without any inkling there was help out there for them to receive until they were stumbled upon during the relief efforts.

However what I found as I made my way around the corner of the divider that ran down the middle of the tent, was my father sitting with his head hung low and his hands dug tightly into his hair. Something was causing him great distress. The only other time I had seen him like this was two years ago when we were in Turkey helping after a massive earthquake and my mother had had a sudden attack of appendicitis. It had nearly ruptured in the time frame it had taken to get her airlifted out to the hospital.

The instant she heard me, my mother was up out of her chair and rushing over to me.

"What's going on, Mom?" I asked her, my gaze darting back and forth from her to my father.

"There's been an emergency," she said hesitantly while resting her hand on my arm as if she were trying to prepare me for what she was about to say.

"Emergency? Is something wrong with Dad?" Moving past her I hurried to my father. "Dad, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"Edward," my mother said coming up behind me. "It's not your father."

"Then what?"

"Look," she said before pausing to take a deep breath. She let it out slowly and then continued. "I need you to do something for me. Promise me something."

I could see the worry filling her eyes. So I told her what I knew she needed to hear, even though I wasn't really sure I'd be able to do it. I had never seen her eyes filled with so much worry before. Sure I'd seen her upset and worried before, but not at this level. It left me with an extremely uneasy feeling in my gut. "Sure, Mom. Whatever you need. Just please explain to me what's going on, you're starting to freak me out."

"What I need for you to do, Son, is to keep an open mind about what your father is about to tell you. Please stay calm and listen to all he has to say before you get upset or make any rash judgments. Can you do that for me, Edward? Can you promise me that?"

The pleading, almost begging tone in my mother's voice told me just how serious what I was about to hear was.

"Yes," I replied, nodding at the same time.

"Carlisle," my mother called to him. He looked up at the two of us. His face was marred with deep wrinkles across his forehead, his jaw was tense and his eyes were sullen with distress. He was about to tell me something big, I could feel it in my bones.

"Son," he said in a somber voice. "Why don't you come sit down?" He patted the metal folding chair next to him where my mother had been sitting when I'd first walked in.

I did as he asked, wanting to find out what was going on as fast as I could.

Straightening his posture and turning in my direction, he let out a long breath. "There's an urgent situation back home that has been brought to my attention and we are leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

"What do you mean urgent situation?" was the first thing that popped out of my mouth. I shook my head trying to grasp what he could be talking about, but nothing came to mind. Motioning my hand back and forth between the two of them while doing the same with my gaze, I asked for clarification. "And by 'we', you mean you and mom. Right?"

There wasn't any situation I could think of that would require me to leave. If something had happened at the hospital and he was needed to return to the states, I didn't see any reason why I couldn't stay here with Bella. In fact I was determined I was going to do just that.

However I saw it in my mother's saddened expression before my father said the words. "No, Son. I mean all three of us. This is a family matter that needs to be attended to and you are a member of that family."

"Family?" I huffed, jumping up out of the chair. "You mean Uncle Tyler and Aunt Beth who we haven't seen in eons. It's been what, at least five or six years?"

"Edward, please calm down," my mother pleaded. "We aren't happy with the situation either. But your father has been asked to do this, and he wants to, so we need to support him."

I sighed in frustration. "So which one, Tyler or Beth?"

"Actually it's your grandfather," my father revealed.

"Grandfather? The only grandfather I have passed away several years ago."

"Your other grandfather," he stated.

"I wasn't aware I had another one," I retorted. I was only hanging on to my composure by a thread. I couldn't believe they were asking me to leave here. To leave Bella for _that man_. Taking a couple of steps I turned my back to them. Raking my hands through my hair I pulled in a few deep breaths of air to try and calm myself.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, _I screamed in my head.

"No."

"Edward," my mother gasped.

"No," I reiterated. "I'm not going and I honestly don't know why the hell either of you are."

"Because he's my father."

"A father who banished you from his life for not bending to his will. Why on earth would you do anything that man wants you to? Especially when you are here doing what you love. Helping people who truly need it. I just don't get it, Dad."

"Because he needs my help too. He may be dying."

I didn't know what to say at that point. I didn't want to wish the man dead, no matter what kind of pain he may have caused my father. But at the same time, I didn't feel like he was owed anything by any of us.

"Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to seem disrespectful. I just don't understand why you want to go after the way he's treated you."

"We don't expect you to, Son. We're simply asking for your support," my mother replied

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, turning back to face them.

Standing, my father cleared his throat and took the needed steps until he was standing about a foot in front of me. "According to the telegram I received from your uncle, he has congestive heart failure. His blood pressure is through the roof, they can't control his potassium levels and his kidneys are shutting down causing him to retain more water than the Hoover Dam."

"So, what do they want? You to come say goodbye, make nice after all this time?"

"No. They want me to try and save him. When I spoke to Tyler this morning via the satellite phone, I told him it sounds like Father is beyond that point, but he begged me to come and try. I told him if Father is at Hopkins he is undoubtedly receiving the best possible care. He then pleaded with me to do it for him, not for our father."

"And so you caved."

"I don't see it like that, Son. And despite the number of years it's been since I've seen your uncle, he is still my brother and he has never wronged me. I am doing it because I want to," he explained.

"Okay, I guess I can understand that. I get you and Uncle Tyler have never been at odds and he was there for you when no one else was. If you want to do this for him, I get that. But why do I have to go?"

"Son," my father said as he placed his hand firmly on my shoulder. "I know I am asking a lot of you to do this. You might think your mother and I don't see what is going on between you and Bella."

"Dad—" He held his hand up cutting me off immediately.

"Edward, what I mean by that is, we see how important she is becoming to you. And you to her as well. It's three weeks I am asking you for. In three weeks she will be back in Baltimore and you can spend all the time in the world with her."

"Believe me we understand, Son," my mother added. "And we whole heartedly approve, she's a wonderful girl. But your father needs us to be there for him right now and so I am asking you to do this with me, for him. Will you do that?"

I hated this. I hated it with every fiber of my being. And I think what I hated even more was I knew I had to do this. My parents had always been there for me, through thick and thin, no matter what. I didn't think anyone could have better parents. So because of that, and because I loved them, I knew I had to do this.

"Okay," I sighed. "When?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Jesus," I sighed. I had virtually no time left to spend with Bella.

"I know it's sudden, but your uncle has chartered a private jet to pick us up," my father said.

"Okay. I'd um…I'd like some time alone. I'm gonna head down to the beach."

"Thank you, Son." He pulled me in his arms and hugged me tightly. "I love you."

"Love you too, Dad."

As I started to walk away my mother stopped me and kissed me on the cheek before whispering her own thank you to me. After telling her I loved her too I made my way down to the water. I somehow had to figure out how to say goodbye to Bella, my Bright Eyes, for the next three weeks.

***{SIB}***

I didn't know how much time I had spent down at the beach, but by the time I made my way back to the tent, my mother told me those that went to the Rodriguez home should be back any time. I hadn't really figured anything out. No matter what I came up with there just didn't seem to be any words that were going to make this any easier.

I started to head to the road they took to wait for Bella when my mom caught my arm and pulled me back.

"Here," she said, thrusting a small backpack in my hands.

"What's this?"

"Dinner for you and Bella. Take her up the beach a ways and spend the rest of the afternoon with her. I don't want to see either of you guys back here before dark."

"But what abo—"

"No buts." She reached up and covered my mouth with her hand. "Now, I'm your mother and you are going to listen to me. Got it?"

"Yes, Ma'am," I replied with a wide grin. She really was the best mom in the world.

"I'll make sure there are no questions asked and that you and Bella aren't missed. I know this isn't easy on you, honey. I see how the two of you are together. I have never seen you like this with any other girl before."

"Thanks, Mom." I pulled her into a tight hug.

"Just make this time count. Okay? I know what it's like to be young and in love. Three weeks isn't a long time in reality, but it will feel like three years. Now get out of here."

I planted another quick kiss on her cheek and hurried out to wait for Bella.

An idea came to me as I approached the end of the road the volunteer crew would be coming down soon. Jogging back to the tent I shared with Bella, I quickly began to gather the items I needed for it. I felt weird and bad for going through Bella's bag, but I was pretty sure I had heard her mention that she'd brought a swimsuit with her and she'd need it for my surprise. Hopefully she wouldn't be mad at me for it. Once I had everything, I placed the items into a bag that was a little bigger than the small backpack my mom had given me and then added all the stuff she had given me as well.

Coming out of the tent, I saw everyone filing back into the camp area and immediately began looking around for Bella.

"Hey." She came up behind me and tugged on my shirt.

"There you are. I was just looking for you."

"Yeah I saw your mom and she said she'd seen you come over this way."

"Come on." I grabbed her hand and motioned with my head for her to come with me.

"Wait," she requested and stopped where she was. "I need to ask you a question first."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Where are we going? Why did you have to come back earlier? What's going on? And don't tell me nothing, I can tell something is. Your mom had it written all over her face. She looked…just…I don't know…sad."

"You know technically that was three questions."

She pulled on my shirt again and pursed her lips at me while trying to give me some sort of evil eye look that was actually more cute than it was evil. "Don't be a jerk. Give me some answers."

Messing with her was so much fun I couldn't help myself. "Okay. Something is going on, my mother is sad and…where we are going is a surprise," I told her fighting the urge to smile and tease her even more.

"Fine. You want to be that way. I'll just stay here." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked around everywhere but at me. It reminded me of my mom a little and for a second I expected her to start tapping her foot like my mom did when she got pissed, but she didn't. She just kept pretending to ignore me to get her point across.

I sighed. I didn't want to tick her off. That was that last thing I wanted to do right now. I was just trying to keep the mood light for as long as I could. If she was starting to feel for me anything close to what I was for her, this wasn't going to be easy. And I didn't want to do it here in front of everyone in case she took it really hard. It was a private matter and I wanted to keep it that way.

"Bella," I said softly. I cupped her face gently between my hands and guided it so that she was looking at me, or until her face was directed at me because she continued to stare in a different direction and not make eye contact with me. "Always so stubborn." When I saw the corners of her lips showing the signs of wanting to curl up into a smile, I leaned in and kissed her, not really caring who might see us at the moment. She didn't respond at first, but then gave in, smacking me lightly on the chest, then fisting her hand in my shirt as she kissed me back.

"Please tell me," she whispered in a pleading voice when we broke for air.

"Not here. I promise I will tell you everything, but not here. Okay?" I asked as I brushed some loose strands of her hair back out of her face.

She nodded and rested her forehead on my chest and slid her arm around me. It was almost as if she knew what was coming.

***{SIB}***

"Are you sure we aren't lost?" Bella stopped walking and shielded her eyes with her hand and looked around us.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Because I have an extremely good memory and I remember the directions I was given." I grasped her hand and tugged on her to keep going. We had been following a path through "the jungle" as Bella called it for about twenty minutes. I had heard a couple of the locals talking about a swimming hole that formed along the banks of a river that dumped into the ocean, and had asked them about it hoping that I might get the chance to bring Bella to it before we headed back to the states.

"Have you ever been there before?"

"No." I chuckled at her.

"Did you get the directions in English or Spanish?"

"If they had been in German, I still would have them correct," I assured her.

"You can speak German too?"

"Yeah, besides listen," I told her.

"I don't hear anything," she claimed.

"That's 'cause you're talking." I placed my finger over her lips and then whispered, "Shh, now close your eyes and listen."

She was quiet and then a small smile formed on her face. "Is that water?"

"Yep. Let's go. The trail should turn just ahead and lead us straight to it."

Just as I had been told, the trail turned towards the river and after walking about another twenty or so feet beyond that, we came to its banks. What we found was so much more than what I had been expecting. There was a river, and it pooled off to the side of the bank where it curved forming a perfect place to swim. But that was nothing compared to the amazing waterfall that was before us.

"It's beautiful," Bella gasped.

"It is," I replied after sitting the bag down and wrapping my arms around her as I stood behind her, gazing down at the look of wonder on her face. She was much more beautiful to me.

"Thank you for bringing me here." She turned in my arms and slid her hands up my chest until they were clasped behind my neck. She pulled on my neck slightly in invitation to lean down and kiss her. I didn't hesitate in complying.

Slowing ending our kiss, I gave her a few soft pecks and then asked, "So you want to swim or eat first?"

"Um…I would say swim, since I'm hot from the walk, but I…ugh don't have anything to swim in. So why don't we eat and you can tell me what's going on?"

I nodded knowing I had to tell her so I might as well get it over with. It wasn't going to get any easier if I waited.

Squatting down I grabbed the bag and pulled out the blanket I had stashed in it and then began pulling out what my mom had given us to eat. After laying out the apples, crackers, peanut butter, and bottles of water, I patted the blanket next to me for her to sit down.

"Do you want me to cut your apple for you or did you want peanut butter and crackers first?"

I was nervous. I knew it and I was struggling to hide it from her. I knew what was going on wasn't my fault, but it was going to upset her and I didn't want to have to do that. And if I was being honest with myself I had to admit that I was worried about how she would take it. Bella had proven to be much more mature than a young woman of her age normally was, but she was still very inexperienced in the relationship department, she had told me herself that she'd only ever had one boyfriend. Because of that, part of me worried that she might see it as some sort of rejection from me or that her reaction might be too severe. But regardless of my worries I still had to tell her. There wasn't any time for me to put it off with me leaving tomorrow morning.

Trying to hide my unease, I grabbed an apple and pulled my Swiss knife out of my pocket and began to slice into the fruit.

"Edward," she said softly. I closed my eyes and sighed, knowing I had been busted when she reached out and placed her hand over mine to stop what I was doing. "Your hand is shaking. What's going on? You're really starting to worry me."

"I'm sorry."

She took the apple and knife from me and set them on the blanket off to the side of us. Next she scooted around so that she was sitting with her legs folded under her in front of me. "It's okay," she whispered." "Just tell me what's going on, _please."_

Raising my gaze to hers, I saw her eyes were no longer shining brightly. Instead they were filled with fear and worry. I hated that I had anything to do with putting it there.

"I want you do know that I don't like this at all. If there were any other way, I would refuse. I don't want to go. Especially because of him. But I have to do this for my parents."

"Do what? Go…you're…you're talking in riddles Edward. I don't understand. Can you just start from when you got back to camp today and tell me what happened."

I stretched my legs out and pulled her to sit between them with her leaning back against me in my arms. Somehow it seemed better to have to tell her if I were holding her close to me. Whether it was more for her comfort or mine I wasn't sure, but I just knew it was better, maybe it was for us both, all I knew was that I never wanted to let her go.

"Like I said when I left to head back to camp with Charlotte, when I got there I was expecting to find my dad in need of help with a patient or something of that nature."

"But that wasn't the case?"

"No. I could clearly see that my parents were upset and at first I thought something was wrong with one of them, but I was wrong about that too."

Suddenly Bella when stiff in my arms. "It's me, right?" she said so softly I barely heard her over the sounds of the rushing water from the waterfall.

"What?" I asked her shocked.

"That's why you brought me here. To tell me that we have to end things right? Your parents don't like it so you are ending it now and you didn't want to do it in front of everyone else so you brought me here to break it to me. Oh God," she cried. Her chest started to heave as she started sucking in heavy breaths of air. I could tell she was about to panic.

"No, Bella. No. Bright Eyes…_please_ look at me," I begged her while shifting her around so she was sitting sideways, looking up at me. She had huge tears welling in her eyes and as one fell to her cheek I brushed it away with my thumb. "I promise you that, that is not why we are here at all. Yes I brought you here to be alone and so I could tell you what's going on while we are alone, but ending things with you is the last thing I want to do."

"Really?"

"_Really_. I promise."

Her reaction reminded me of the conversation I'd had with my dad a few weeks ago when he told me to be careful due to her lack of relationship experience. The fact that she'd instantly jump to the conclusion that I wanted to end things with her really made me see just how right he had been. It was something that only time would help her become more sure of. The longer we were together the more trusting of our feelings for each other she'd become.

"Okay, then what is it?"

"It's Bartholomew—my grandfather. He's very ill. My dad got a telegram from my uncle this morning right after we left for the Rodriguez home and then he spoke to him via the satellite phone shortly before Charlotte came to get me."

"Oh my gosh, Edward, I'm so sorry to hear that," she leaned up and placed a tender kiss on my lips. "No wonder your mom looked so upset when I saw her. Is it serious? He'll recover won't he?"

"We're not sure," I told her and then spent the next several minutes explaining to her what was going on. Tears spilled from her beautiful brown eyes again when I told her we'd be leaving in the morning.

"Please believe me, leaving is the last thing I want to do. If it weren't for my parents needing my support I wouldn't go at all."

"It's, okay. I understand," she assured me and I could see that she meant it.

We kissed for the next few minutes and then just held on to each other for a few more after that. She was quiet as she scooted off my lap and picked up one of the small disposable containers of peanut butter and a packet of crackers. As she began to eat, I could tell she was mulling things over in her head. I figured she was trying coming to terms with the fact I was leaving. So following her lead, I picked up the apple I had begun to cut up before and finished slicing it into quarters.

After a few minutes though, I found out there was more to her silence. "Edward, I don't mean to pry…and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But what did you mean by you didn't want to go for him? And that you were only going to support your parents?"

"Because it's the truth," I said, realizing I was going to have to explain why I felt that way.

"But don't you want to see your grandfather? I mean…what if he doesn't make it. I'm sorry I know I shouldn't even say such a thing, but I get this feeling like…I don't know how else to put it…almost like it doesn't matter."

I took a bite of apple and began to chew as I contemplated how to explain things to her. Taking a swig of water to wash it down I started, "See, my grandfather is the biggest reason I feel the way I do about rich spoiled people. It's not just the snotty spoiled girls I've met over the years. It's much more than that. He's actually a lot like you described your parents to me. Only he's much, much worse."

"How so?"

"Well it started years and years ago with my great-great-grandfather. He went to law school and went to work for a small law firm right out of college. When the owner became gravely ill, Thomas, my great-great-grandfather was able to purchase the firm and he built it into a very lucrative business. From that time on every male in the Cullen family, and even some women, went to law school and became part of the firm, Cullen and Associates. It's still an extremely lucrative law firm to this day."

"But your father didn't. He became a doctor…and your grandfather didn't like that?" she guessed.

"Didn't like is an understatement. See, Bella, it wasn't that all the males born in the family from that time on became lawyers simply because it was what they wanted to do. It was what was expected of you and there was no other option," I told her.

"Wow," she said after blowing out a long breath. "So your dad is the outcast, black sheep if you will, of the family because he choose a different path in life."

I shook my head and chuckled lowly at her analogy of my grandfather's reaction. "Worse."

"Worse? What do you mean worse?" She had a very confused look on her face as she waited for me to explain.

"The way my dad has explained to me, my grandfather at first thought it was some kind of joke when my dad's acceptance letter to medical school came. Most everyone has attended Georgetown in DC for their law degrees, so as time went on and no acceptance letter from Georgetown came, my grandfather confronted him and that's when my dad told his father that he was the only one who took the letter as a joke, that he was truly going to med school."

"Geez, I bet that wasn't a pleasant conversation," Bella quipped.

"Nope. Grandfather gave him two choices. Go to Georgetown, or move out. When my father choose to move out, Grandfather tried to buy him off, offering everything from fancy cars, to having his own apartment instead of dorm living, to offering him his entire inheritance from my great-grandfather. Then when none of that worked, Grandfather tried to use his wealth to get my dad removed from med school."

"Obviously that didn't work."

"No it didn't, but Dad still ended up paying a hefty price. When Grandfather realized he couldn't manipulate my dad into doing what he wanted, he threw a fit of massive proportions doing everything he could to distance himself from my dad, including telling Dad he was dead to him."

"That's horrible, Edward. No wonder you have such dislike for wealthy people. I mean my own personal dislike stems from the snotty girls I've had to deal with in school and the lifestyle my parents have forced me to endure. But even though they don't understand or approve of what I've chosen to do, they aren't forbidding me from doing it either. Though I do think on some level my mother expects that at some point I will change my mind and tell her she was right all along, but I know in my heart that will never happen.

"She's told me countless times how she thought she wanted something more from her life once too and how all that got her was pregnant with me. That eventually she saw her mother was right and she went home to take her rightful place in her family. That she was lucky her father was willing to make a place for my father in his business. But to me that just means that my father let my grandfather buy him. I think it's amazing that your dad didn't let that happen to him. I don't want that kind of life, I know what I want to do with my future and I want it to be so much more fulfilling than being a trophy wife on some big wig's arm."

While Bella's parents may not have been as bad as my grandfather, it was beyond me to understand why they couldn't just support her even if it wasn't what they wanted. She was still their child and they should be proud that she wanted to help others. And for her mother to say that wanting more out of life only got her pregnant with Bella, well to me she should think having Bella was the best thing that ever happened to her, not act as if it was some mishap that had befallen her.

"What you want to do with your life, Bella…it's one of the things I really admire about you." I tightened my hold on her and leaned down kissing her shoulder. Resting my head against hers, I told her, "It's just beyond me to fathom trying to buy off your own son and then excluding him from your life when he doesn't bend to your will. If it weren't for my uncle, I doubt we'd be going back early."

"Has your dad remained close with your uncle?"

"For the most part, they were really close growing up. After my dad left home, his brother was the only one in the family that remained in contact with him. Grandfather had forbidden Grandmother from seeing him, and having been brought up in a time when your husband was the absolute ruler of the family she felt she had no other recourse other than to obey him. Since my uncle was no longer living at home himself when my dad left, it enabled him more freedom to remain in contact with my dad than my grandmother had. Grandmother would ask Uncle Tyler about my dad, but out of fear of being found out she wouldn't see him. But even though they've kept in contact it's been several years since we've seen them. Maybe a lot of that has to do with busy lifestyles. I'm not sure, I've never questioned it. My parents are really active in charity work back in Baltimore too and my uncle is running the law firm, so it was what I saw as the reasoning behind it."

"I can't begin to imagine how hard that must have been for your father," Bella said shaking her head as she took in all that I was telling her.

"I can't either. My parents have always been there for me and so supportive of me in whatever it was I wanted to do. There was a time when I thought that pursuing a career in pro-basketball might have been what I wanted, I had played since grade school and early on in college. I also wanted something to fall back on incase basketball didn't work and decided if I couldn't do that, being a doctor was what I wanted."

"So do you still play?"

"No, both pre-med and basketball were very demanding and it got to the point where I didn't feel like I was giving my all to either one and I don't believe in doing things halfway. When I dedicate myself to something I want to be in all the way, fully committed. So I had to choose. My parents told me either way they'd be proud and support me. In the end I chose med school and I have no regrets about that choice."

"It's easy to see why they are so proud of you. You're pretty amazing." She smiled brightly up at me and I couldn't resist kissing her in that moment.

"You are too. Don't sell yourself short, Bella. I see and my parents do too. Hopefully one day your parents will see that what you want to do is a good thing."

"I hope so," she said wistfully.

"Okay. Enough with the heavy shit. We don't have much day light left so let's have some fun. We're going to go for a swim."

"But…I told you…"

"What? That you don't have one of these?" I pulled her swimsuit out of the bag.

"Well, Mr. Cullen. I probably should be upset that you rummaged through my stuff, but since it was for such a great reason, I'm not." She kissed my cheek and then hopped up off my lap. "Uh…" she said looking around. "Just where am I supposed to put this on at?" She held the swimsuit up at me.

What I wanted to say to her was that I'd already seen her naked so where she was standing—right in front of me—was fine. However I knew that was not the right thing to say, for more than one reason, one of which being it would be embarrassing to her to bring up the shower incident again. So instead I kept my less than gentlemanly thoughts to myself and said, "We're in a pretty closed in area with all the trees around us, how about if I turn my back and promise to stay like that while you change. Is that okay?"

"Um…yeah, I guess that will work." Despite being a little hesitant to agree, she didn't waste any time in going to change. "No peeking."

"Not even a tiny one?" I teased.

"No. Now turn around. You are wasting time."

I laughed at her but turned so she could get changed.

The few minutes it took her to put her suit on were excruciating. I had never wanted to see anything so much in all my life. I still often had images of her lying on the dimly lit bathroom floor in all her bare glory, popping into my head quite regularly. The thought of seeing her in the brightly lit light of the day was almost more than I could handle. It was torture. My muscles ached with the desire to turn and see her naked again.

_My muscles weren't the only thing twitching. _

"Okay, your turn," Bella said walking up next to me.

Damn she was gorgeous. "You look…" I could hardly speak and the air felt stuck in my chest. "God you look amazing, Bright Eyes."

"Thanks," she murmured, turning bright red and shuffling back and forth from foot to foot. She was so innocently sexy and it made her so completely captivating.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I hurried to go change.

Taking one last peek at her before I began to change I saw she had walked over to the edge of the water. She was standing in the sun and when she reached up and let her hair down, she was like some sort of goddess standing there. It was incredibly difficult to take my eyes off the way the white fabric of her swimsuit bottoms clung to her perfect ass, or the way her legs looked a mile long. My shorts were becoming increasingly tight and all I could thing about was the war raging inside me to keep from throwing her down on the blanket, kissing and touching every inch of her. I was so distracted I nearly walked into a tree while watching her.

_Way to go, Cullen. Knock yourself out why don't ya. I'd like to see ya explain that injury to her or your father. _

As soon as I had my trunks on, I made my way over to her. She was dipping her toes in the water.

"How is it?" I asked coming up behind her and placing my hands on her hips.

"It's nice. Maybe just a tad chilly." She glanced up at me through her long lashes, having no idea how damn sexy she was. Smiling she asked, "So whose jumping in first?"

"Well actually," I said bending over to pick her up. "I have a better idea."

"Edward, put me down. What are you doing Edward?" she screeched.

She started kicking her feet and wiggling in my arms trying to get loose.

"You better hold on tight or you're going to make me drop you, Bright Eyes." I shifted my hold on her to keep her from slipping out of my arms. "Now hang on and we'll go in together. You know how to swim, right?"

"Yes but…I don't know if this—"

The second I jumped off the river bank, her words were cut off as her arms simultaneously tightened around my neck and a loud squeal mixed with giggles erupted from her. She came up out of the water sputtering and laughing.

_God she was beautiful and I was going to miss her so damn much. The next three weeks were going to suck._

***{Bella}***

"What do you think of the water now?" he asked splashing some water at me, causing me to laugh even harder.

So I splashed him right back. "It feels amazing." It really did feel great after working in the hot sun all day.

We swam and chased each other through the water, stopping to kiss for a few minutes each time one of us caught the other. It was an incredible feeling to just be fun and carefree with him like this and not have to worry about anyone seeing us.

After trying to get close to the water fall a couple of times, we realized the water was too rough and with the large rocks that ran along the edge of the fall and the river bank we figured it was too dangerous to continue trying to get any closer than we had.

We'd been chasing each other for a while when suddenly Edward disappeared under the water. I twisted in every direction, but there was no sign of him. "Edward," I called. "Edward…Okay, Stretch, knock it off and come out from wherever you are hiding."

I waited a few more moments and kept looking around for him. A couple of times I was pretty sure I had seen ripples in the water as if he had barely poked his head up to take a breath of air before going back below the surface.

"Fine then. You stay in the water, I'm going to get out and get dressed," I called thinking he could probably hear me.

I started to swim towards the bank when I felt something brush against my leg. It was like a fluttering sensation so I wasn't sure if it was him, maybe a fish or even some sort of underwater plant. The banks had lots of tall reed like plants growing along the rocky slopes so it really could have been any one of those things. I turned and remained still for a minute, silently taking in my surroundings for any sign of Edward. At one point I saw a slight movement by a patch of tall plants near the bank, but I couldn't tell for sure if it was Edward or just the water current causing it.

Starting to swim again, I had barely taken three or four stokes through the water when I was suddenly yanked under the water.

"That…was…so mean," I told Edward between sputters, as I somehow surfaced right into his arms.

"Oh come on. You know I was just playing." He was trying to pout and look like he was sorry, but that smirk of his, the one that always melted me, was threatening to burst right through his phony frown. "Besides, you have to forgive me."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm leaving in the morning and I can't leave knowing you are mad at me."

"Then maybe…never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing, it was silly and stupid."

"Hey," he pulled me closer until our bodies were flush against each other's. "What's wrong? What were you going to say? It can't be silly or stupid if it's bugging you that much and it's obvious that it is. So please tell me." He smoothed my wet hair back out of my face and brushed a soft kiss on my lips. "_Please_," he asked, one more time.

"I just thought for a second…when you said you couldn't leave knowing I was mad at you…that…well that maybe I should stay mad so you wouldn't leave."

I looked down at the water while nervously toying with the hair at the base of his neck, worried that he'd think I was being childish and stupid. And it wasn't just that I didn't want him to leave, all my fears about what would happen when we returned to Baltimore came rushing to the forefront. What would happen to us? I thought we had three more weeks to talk about things, figure them all out and now he was suddenly leaving tomorrow and the uncertainty was killing me.

His left hand slid up between us until he was cradling my face with it and gently caressing my cheek with his thumb. "You don't know how damn bad I wish it were that simple, Bight Eyes. I have to do this for my parents. They deserve my support just like they've supported me every time I've needed them to."

I squeezed my eyes shut and fought back the tears that wanted to come. "I know," I said softly. "And I understand, it's just…"

"It's just what?"

"I understand, I really do. You have a wonderful relationship with them and I'd be shocked if you didn't go to support your parents. I'm just…I'm going to miss you so much."

"Bella," he said so very softly, sounding as if he was getting choked up too. "I am going to miss you so very, very much. These past few weeks with you have been so incredible and I wish I didn't have to go. But soon, you will be back in Baltimore too and we can pick right back up from here and it's going to be amazing."

"You really want that?" I asked in relief.

He tucked a finger under my chin and used it to gently pull my face to his for a soft lingering kiss. "Without a doubt, Bight Eyes. These past few weeks are just the beginning for us. There are so many things I want to do with you when we get back to Baltimore."

"Like what?"

"I want to show you around campus. Take you on dates. Introduce you to Emmett. Take you to all my favorite places and go with you to yours. Is that something you think you'd want too?"

"Yes. I want that so much. I feel so stupid now. But…well, we'd never really talked about where we'd go when we left here, so I just wasn't sure. I didn't want to just assume."

"Well it's true. This isn't just a summer fling for me, I want all of that and there's one more thing I want too."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I want to be able to tell everyone that I met this incredible, caring, wonderful, beautiful girl this summer and that somehow I'm lucky enough that she has agreed to be my girlfriend."

"You do?" I gasped in surprise. In all the time I had spent worrying about what would happen between us when we got home, I had never ever considered that he'd want to make things so…so official between us.

"Yes. So what'd ya say, Bella? Bright Eyes, will you be my girlfriend?"

My head began nodding rapidly before I could get the words out. "Yes, yes, yes," I said with a smile so wide it almost hurt.

His face morphed into a smile that was as big as mine and then before I knew what hit me his lips we crushed into mine. His hand slid up my back and tangled in my hair, holding my face to his. His other arm tightened around my waist, bringing me even closer to him as the hand in my hair turned my head slightly allowing him to deepen the kiss.

As we continued holding on to each other like it was the last time we'd ever see one another, it felt as if we couldn't get close enough, and before I realized I'd done it, my legs raised and wrapped themselves firmly around his waist. Our kissing went on, we went back and forth between practically devouring each other as our tongues tangled together, to leaving trails of hot kisses up and down each other's throats. The longer we went on, the more heated things got and we soon found ourselves grinding against each other and clinging desperately to one another, trying find a way to get even closer than we already were. When Edward's hands slipped down my back, grasping me firmly on my ass, pulling me harder against him, a loud moan escaped my lips as my head began to swirl from the effects our actions were having on me.

_Holy shit I had never felt anything so good in my entire life as the feeling of his body pushing against mine in the most intimate of places._

I was feeling lost, dizzy in the sensations of our bodies moving together when Edward pulled away laying his head on my shoulder with a bit of a thud as his chest rose and fell rapidly in his attempt to catch his breath. "We have to stop, Bella."

"Why?" I had never wanted anything so much as I wanted him to make love to me in that moment. I was so worked up I could hardly see straight. I knew I was falling for him and I wanted him to be my first.

He carried me out of the water and laid us down on the blanket we had eaten our food on, as he began kissing me softly again, I thought maybe he'd changed his mind and that this was it. But then he asked, "Have you ever before? Have you ever been with anyone, Bella?"

"No," I whispered.

"I didn't think so."

"But, I know—"

"Shhhh, Let me say what I need to say. Okay?"

I nodded.

"I would be honored to be your first. Someday. But not here and not now. Not only is it too soon, we've barely begun our relationship. We are going to have plenty of time to take that step. When and if we do, I want it to be an amazing wonderful experience for you, one that you will never forget. Not one that happens in the spur of a moment because we've gotten carried away. Please don't think I don't want you because nothing could be further from the truth. I want you very much. You have no idea how incredibly difficult it is resisting you. But there's no way I could make love to you for the first time and then leave you for three weeks and I hope you can believe that I mean what I'm saying. "

"I do, I believe you," I told him. I knew he was right. My body was screaming something else entirely, but I knew that it was best if we waited.

"You understand right? Not only is it too soon, but there are other things to consider like protection. I don't have anything here with me and I'm sure you don't either."

"No, you're right. I get it. I just got carried away and well…"

"I know, Bright Eyes. I really do. You aren't the only one who was getting carried away."

After kissing for a few more minutes, he sat up pulled his bag over to him and said, "It's getting late." He looked up and the sky and then down at his watch that was lying on top of his clothes. "The sun will be setting soon and we should be back to camp by dark. Before we go there is one more thing I want to do."

"What's that?" I asked him.

"Close your eyes," he ordered.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it. Stop being so stubborn and argumentative."

He smiled at me and then kissed me on the nose and thanked me when I did as he asked.

I heard him dig through the bag and then felt him shuffle closer to me.

"Okay, you can open them now."

Dangling in front of my eyes was a beautiful necklace with a stone that looked similar to turquoise, strung by a thin silver wire, onto a thin string of black leather.

"Edward, it's so pretty."

"You like it?"

"Yes I do. Very much."

"Would you like to wear it?"

"Yes, please. Where did you get it?" I asked as I turned around so he could put it on me.

"When I went across the island with my dad for the day last week for medical supplies."

"It's so pretty. Is it turquoise?"

"No. I found it in a shop owned by some locals," he said as he finished putting it on me. "They told me it's called Larimar and can only be found here in the DR. He said that it's mined in the mountains here and you can find it in many different shades ranging from white and light blue to a very deep blue. I remembered you saying how much you loved the color of the ocean here so I thought this would be a pretty reminder of that for you."

"It is. Thank you so much. I love it."

By the time we spent a few more minutes kissing and talking about some of the things we wanted to do together back in Baltimore, we were really cutting it close to getting back to camp before dark. After quickly changing back into our clothes, we gathered our stuff and headed back to camp.

Once we returned we spent a short time with Edward's parents, where they gave me their apologies for Edward having to leave. I assured them I understood completely and that they had nothing to be sorry for.

Later when I was lying in Edward's arms, in the quietness of our tent, silly as it was, I fought falling asleep for as long as I could, knowing when the morning came, I'd have to say goodbye and I wasn't really sure how I was going to do that. All I knew for sure was it was going to be one of the hardest things I had ever had to do.

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**I know, I know, they weren't supposed to have to say goodbye yet, right? Next chapter we will see how Bright Eyes is doing without her Stretch. **

**In the mean time don't forget to hop on over to my blog and check out the pictures for this chapter. You can even sign up for email alerts so you automatically get the pics and teasers I post right in your inbox.**

**You can find the address for my blog on my profile page. Just copy and paste it into your browser. **

**Thanks for reading. Let me know what ya think. **

**EA**


	8. Leaving On A Jet Plane

**Hi and happy Friday everyone. I wanted to take a second to apologize to all of you for not replying to my reviews for the last chapter. Real life is a crazy mess right now and it's been hard to keep up with everything and keep up with my writing too. Therefore I am hoping that you all understand that the free time I did have, I used it to write. I do want you all to know that I read each and every one and I loved them all.  
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**Now to address the question most everyone asked in their reviews. Why didn't Bella tell Edward about her last name before he left? While I can't answer it yet, I promise you that she does have what I feel are some very valid reasons. I can also promise it won't be too much longer before those reasons are known. So please hang in there just a little longer and you will know why she can't tell him yet.  
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**Now let's go see how Bright Eyes is doing without her Stretch.  
**

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

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**August 1, 2011**

***{Bella}***

"_Remember, this isn't goodbye, Bright Eyes, it's only I'll see you later for a little while."_

Edward's last words, as he kissed me for the last time before he had left, kept circling in my mind on replay. The sun had risen and set for the last twenty-three days and at first I had been able to pass the time with each one, knowing that each time it had appeared or disappeared for the night, I was getting one day closer to the time when I'd see Edward again.

However as the days had worn on and everyone at camp had begun rushing to get as much achieved as possible before our deadline came, I had found in the exhausting hustle and bustle the time started blurring and I had sought out another way to physically mark it's passing.

About ten days into my time without Edward I had found myself drawing a calendar on the inside cover of my Sudoku puzzle book. Each night before I would begin the ritual of tossing and turning without him next to me, I would mark an "X" over each date. Childish as it was, it was also a tangible way for me to see I was getting closer to the time when I would be with him again and feel his arms wrapped around me once more.

_That's if he still wants you after he knows the truth._

The lack of any means of outside communication hadn't bothered me once during the first part of my stay in the Dominican Republic, but once Edward had left, I had begun wishing for my laptop or a way to charge my dead cell-phone as some way to reach out to him. But none of those modern conveniences of the life I knew back in Baltimore had been available to me here.

With Edward gone the scent from his flannel shirt he'd left with me began to fade. The first few nights sleeping with it on my pillow so I could still smell him had been the only way I'd been able to fall asleep. After that time the tossing and turning set in and the longing for his arms around me became more of a physical ache that I couldn't shake.

Another drawback to Edward being gone was for the first time I found myself really missing Al. There had been times when I'd wished she was here or that I could talk to her, but for the most part, Edward had filled the void that had been made by not having my best friend around. Without him I missed her more than I ever imagined I would. At least by this afternoon I would have her to help me pass the next day and a half until we were back home.

As I sat in the terminal of the newly reopened Gregorio Luperón Puerto Plata International Airport waiting for my flight, I thought about how if there was ever a time when I was most likely to be caught by my parents, now was that time. Al had been scheduled to arrive back in Miami late last night from Mexico. Once she landed she was supposed to hide in the restroom on the other side of the airport from where her flight from Miami back to Baltimore was supposed to take off. When she was certain she had missed the flight she was going to phone my parents and hers telling them that we missed the flight due to me being in the restroom getting sick and that we would have to spend the night in Miami.

Our plan hinged on the fact that Al was very convincing and that her parents as well as mine trusted her implicitly. Although it wasn't likely she'd have actually been given the chance to speak to my parents. More than likely one of the house employees who lived in our home would get the message and pass it on to them. My parents would acknowledge it briefly and then go on without a care or another thought about it. It would be as if they'd been told their laundry was being done. They'd say "that's fine" and ask to be notified of my new arrival time.

Al's parents would ask some questions, wanting to make sure I wasn't too seriously ill, but Al would assure them we were pretty sure it was just from something I ate and that I'd be fine with some rest and time for my stomach to settle down. Then once I met up with Al this afternoon, we'd call both sets of our parents after we'd had a chance to book us both on the first flight back to Baltimore tomorrow, stating I needed one more day to recoup from my illness.

I already owed Al big time for all her help in my being able to volunteer this summer and now after meeting Edward, I felt like I owed her even more. I was definitely going to have to figure out some way to repay her.

***{SIB}***

The flight to Miami had been nearly depressing in the sense that I was all alone, but thrilling in the sense that in a very short time I'd see Al and hopefully by tomorrow at the latest I would have at least talked to Edward. He had given me his cell number before he'd left and my fingers were itching to dial it.

I exited the plane quickly and made my way to the luggage claim, knowing exactly where it was since I'd been in this airport a few times before.

"Eeeeep! Bell!"

As soon as I heard the squeal I knew who it was. I spun around to the sound of the loud clickity-clack noise coming from behind me to see Al running towards me in a blur of pink and white. She was a sight for sore eyes and seeing her made me realize I had missed her so much more than I thought I had.

"Oh my God I missed you so much." We wrapped our arms around each other and engulfed one another in a hug. "Geez, Al, look at you. You're the picture of perfection," I told her as we came apart. She was tan and glowing in her hot pink tiered, ruffled tank, bright white capri pants and her pink kitten heeled Manolo Blahnik sandals I had given her for graduation.

"Gosh, Bell, I missed you too. But, honey, what the hell are you wearing?" Her nose crinkled up in dislike.

I had gotten cold on the plane and had thrown Edward's flannel shirt on over the tie-died tank and jean shorts I was wearing. Air conditioning was something I had done without for the past eight weeks and the cold air had felt great at first, but it hadn't been long before I was freezing. I was sure I must look like a rag doll compared to her, but I was comfortable and dressing "properly", as my mother would say, for the next ten days until I moved into my dorm at school was going to take some getting used to.

"Only you would ask me that after not seeing me for eight weeks."

"Well just look at you. You're wearing a…a flannel shirt, Bell. Where on God's green earth did you get that thing and these too?" She pulled the sunglasses I'd been wearing off my face, holding them pinched between her finger and thumb like they were contaminated with some vile substance. "They look like something you bought in an airport gift shop."

I snorted and smiled at her. "That's 'cause they are, Al."

She had a confused and almost disgusted look on her face. I didn't think her eyebrows could have risen any higher and I was sure she was refraining from chastising me on how proper fashion sense did not include buying sunglasses in the airport gift shop.

"But you had that pair th—"

"I know, I had the pair I bought in the Bahamas. They got broken." Remembering just how they had gotten broken caused a wide smile to spread across my face. _Edward. I couldn't wait to talk to him._

"Okay why are you smiling like that? Those were gorgeous sunglasses, Bell."

"Yes they were. But what I got in return is so much better." I was still smiling. I just couldn't stop.

"Did you catch some jungle fever or other strange disease on that island?" She reached up and laid her hand over my forehead like she was checking to see if I had a fever. "Surely you don't think these things are better sunglasses."

"No, silly girl. I wasn't referring to the sunglasses at all."

"Then what were you referring to?" I should have known she would ask. She was the most inquisitive person I knew.

"It's a long story and I will explain later. Right now can we please just go to the hotel? I would love to have a hot shower and sleep in a real bed."

"Shit. I'm sorry. I keep forgetting you've been wandering through the jungle all summer."

I snickered a little at her continued use of the word jungle. Edward had teased me so much about calling the tropical forest around us the jungle.

"It's okay. Just lead the way. Which hotel did you pick?" We started to walk out of the terminal.

"Oh, I thought it'd be easiest to just stay here at the airport hotel. No worries about getting back and forth or anything."

"Sounds perfect."

She linked her arm around mine as we headed for the hotel and began chattering away. "I have so much to tell you. You are not going to believe some of the things that happened…"

***{SIB}***

"Oooh," I groaned as I stepped out of the shower. Hot water had never felt so good. Not even when I was ten and had stayed out in the snow too long and thought my toes had frozen solid. Of course they hadn't, but up until now that had been the best shower of my life.

_Just admit it to yourself already, Bella. That ice cold shower in the DR, causing you to end up naked in Edward's arms was the best ever._

I had done three things the moment we had entered our hotel room. The first had been to plug my cell phone in to charge so I could call Edward. The second was to tell Al to order up some food from room service because I was starving. I had been so nervous about flying back to Miami I hadn't been able to eat at all this morning. The thought that I might encounter my parents had had my stomach in knots, but on our walk to through the airport to the hotel, Al had assured me that neither sets of our parents were the least bit suspicious. I was so tremendously relieved. The third thing I had done was to jump in the shower.

While drying off I spied Edward's shirt hanging on the back of the bathroom door. I had worried Al might feel the urge to dispose of it so I had made sure to bring it in with me for safe keeping.

I dug through the small suitcase Al had brought with her for me. The soft, fresh cotton of my machine-washed and fabric softened pajama felt really good against my skin and smelled wonderful compared to the rougher fabric of the hand washed clothes I had become used to wearing. So did leaving my hair down since being in the cool air of the hotel room it was no longer hot enough for it to be uncomfortable if it wasn't up.

"Oh good you're done. The food just got here." Al was pushing the cart over to the small table in the room. "I wasn't sure what you wanted so I just ordered a few of your favorites. They seemed relieved actually that we were staying another day to make sure you were feeling better. Mom said she'd pass the word on to your folks and we are booked on a flight out of here at noon tomorrow."

I nodded and set Edward's shirt on the foot of the bed I was closest to and lifted the lid off the first plate. My mouth started watering immediately from the smell and sight of the huge cheeseburger loaded with tomato, onion, pickles and mustard and the pile of onion rings that filled the other half of the plate. Picking it up, I wasted no time in taking a huge bite.

"Oh. My. God," I moaned through the mouth full of food, barely chewing at all before diving in for another bite.

"Oh my God is right." Al giggled. "You should see yourself, Bell."

I finished chewing this time before trying to talk. I picked up the white Styrofoam cup sitting on the cart and took a long pull from the straw. It was mountain dew, my favorite. "Geez that tastes so damn good." Al started giggling again and this time I joined in. "I'm sorry I know I must look like a pig, but I just can't help myself."

"It's okay. I get it." She sat down on the bed and then patted the spot next to her. "Come on. Bring that over here and tell my about your summer adventure and this…this shirt." She picked up the sleeve of the shirt like she had held the sunglasses earlier out in the terminal.

"Hey, don't hate the shirt," I told her with mock sarcasm. She just rolled her eyes at me and patted the bed again.

I began filling her in, starting with how I'd met Edward on the plane and his part in the demise of my sunglasses. "Bell," she squealed. "That's so epically romantic."

"I know. Now that I think back on it, it really is. At the time I thought he was just some cute nosy guy that was going to annoy me the entire flight," I admitted in between bites of food. I could feel the effects of the caffeine from the Dew kicking in, but it had been eight weeks since Al and I had a good long girly chat and if the caffeine kept us up all night, neither one of us cared. "But he was so sweet. And you should have seen how he insisted that his dad look at the bruise I got from his head banging into me." I sighed at the thought of that day.

"Someone's got it bad," Al chimed.

We ate and went back and forth chatting for the next several hours. By the time the both of us were done regaling everything about our summer adventures, it was nearly two in the morning and as I looked at my now fully charged cell phone, I was sad that it was way too late to call Edward. It would have to wait until we got up in the morning.

"I still can't believe Lauren Mallory's mom had to fly to Mexico because she got alcohol poisoning."

"Believe me no one in that hotel was saved from hearing Mrs. Mallory rant as she stormed through the hotel, going on about how incredibly embarrassed she was. She never once mentioned how Lauren was or that she was grateful her daughter would be okay. It was all about how she was worried that she'd be seen as less than anything other than the perfect mother and how it was taking her way from other things she needed to be doing. That Lauren should know better than to indulge in such behavior."

"That sounds so much like something my mother would say," I said before a big yawned escaped from me.

"No because your mom would send Becca to look after you," she said correcting me.

"Yeah, she probably would," I agreed sadly.

"I guess we should get some sleep," Al said through her own yawn. She was sitting there staring at me with a weird sort of perplexed look on her face that I didn't get.

"What?" I asked her before glancing back down at my phone.

"You miss him."

"Yeah, I do. So much," I whispered feeling very near to crying.

"He sounds wonderful. I can't wait to meet him."

"I can't wait for that either."

When she yawned again she scooted over and gave me a huge hug. "We should sleep. You can call him in the morning. Who knows, maybe he'll do something super romantic like be waiting for you at the airport to sweep you into his arms the second he sees you."

"You don't know how wonderful that would be, Al. But I just don't know what's gone on with his family issues. He might not be able to."

"Well there's no harm in wishing for it." She hugged me tighter. "Oh I am so excited for you, Bell. I told you you'd meet some hot guy this summer."

We giggled loudly and said our good nights before crawling under the covers of our own beds. Realizing I was missing something I crawled back down to the end of my bed and grabbed Edward's shirt, pulling it close to my chest so I could hold on to it as I slept.

"Bell?" Alice whispered just as I got comfy in the bed again.

"Yeah."

"Did you just put that shirt in bed with you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"You love him." It was a statement not a question and I was caught off guard by how transparent I'd been. Of course if anyone were going to see it, it would be Al given how well she knew me. I would certainly notice that same thing about her if our situations were reversed.

"Yeah, I think I do."

"He's a very lucky guy."

That was the last thing either of us said. Sleep was taking over quickly for the first time in a long time and before I knew it I was out.

***{SIB}***

"Really, Mary Alice? Pink?" I grumbled at Al through the bathroom door as I rushed to get dressed. I was tired and cranky. Even though I had fallen right to sleep I didn't stay that way. Apparently getting used to sleeping on a bed again was going to take some adjustment just like sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag had.

Both Al and I had forgotten to set an alarm in our need to catch up on everything we had done over the last several weeks and as a result we had overslept. Now instead of having a relaxing morning to enjoy, we were flying around like a couple of helium filled balloons that had been let loose without being tied on the end.

"Geez, Bell. It's a color. A great color. My _favorite_ color. Is the full name really necessary?" she quipped as she burst out of the bathroom. Turning to face me she put one hand on her hip and wagged her brush at me with the other. "Besides, you thought the same color looked perfect on me last night. What's wrong with it now?"

"On you it looks great," I retorted.

"Oh please, is that the best you can do? And it's not just any pink. It's hot pink and it looks hot on you, especially with that tan you got this summer."

I sighed loudly in protest but didn't fight her when she turned me around to look at myself in the full length mirror on the bathroom door.

"See how great you look? I spared you from having to wear heels. Doesn't that count for something?" she asked with a sad puppy dog pout on her face.

"Fine I guess I see your point." I conceded. I didn't really have time to argue with her anyways.

We still had to get our stuff together, grab something to eat and get out to the terminal soon. Plus I still wanted to call Edward. I was really liking Al's idea of him being at the airport waiting for me and was toying with the idea of asking him to meet me there. I missed him so much and it was getting harder with each day that went by. I just prayed I would have time to do it now that we had slept late. If not I would have to wait until we landed.

"Oh that's really pretty but it doesn't match your outfit," she declared as she reached over and ran her finger over the stone on my necklace from Edward. Walking over to her suitcase she asked, "You want me to dig something out of my jewelry for you that will match your outfit better?"

"Nope. Doesn't matter because I'm not taking this one off," I told her as I reached up to feel the necklace myself.

"Did you get that from the sexy doctor Edward?"

"Yes I did and he's not a doctor."

"Not yet," she replied and then burst into a fit of giggles.

"What is the matter with you?" I hurried over to my bed and sat down to put on the sandals she had brought for me. I was really grateful she had thought to not put me in heels. Not that I had anything against them, but not having worn them in weeks, I was sure to be wobbly.

"You didn't deny he was sexy." She snorted, completely amused with herself as she started piling things into her suitcase. Unfortunately she glanced up just in time to catch me blushing a second later. "What aren't you telling me, Isabella Marie? Did something happen with him?" She tossed a few more things into her bag and then zipped it shut. She had so much stuff in it I was shocked she hadn't had to sit on it or something to make it close. That was when I noticed her staring at me.

"What?" I asked, moving all the stuff I didn't need from my backpack into the small suitcase she had brought stuff for me in and what I did need into the purse she'd included for me.

"Are you still a virgin?" she asked like she was unsure of what my answer would be.

"Yes I'm still a virgin. Jesus, Al."

"Oh don't look so shocked I'm asking you that. If you could see the way your face lights up when you talk about Edward, or how you fondle that shirt of his and don't even realize you're doing it. Even if you hadn't admitted to being in love with him last night, you'd have to be a fool not to see it. So I don't ask you that question to make you feel like you'd have committed some kind of crime if you weren't. If you love him and he loves you then there's nothing wrong with it."

"I know that, Alice. And there was a moment where I thought it might happen, where I wanted it to happen. But he stopped us." I zipped my suitcase closed after putting my now empty backpack into it and slid it down onto the floor. It made me miss him more thinking about that afternoon. Some of the feelings that had been stirred in me were still new and overwhelming. I had never wanted anyone like I had Edward then. It had been so consuming. The way I felt for him period was consuming and it was scary. I just didn't know how to deal with all the emotions coursing through me.

"What's wrong?" she asked coming over to sit next to me when she noticed the change in my mood.

I took a deep breath trying to pull together what I wanted to tell her. Knowing she was my best friend and would never judge me, I told her everything that had happened at the waterfall. She knew Edward had asked me to be his girlfriend that afternoon, but I hadn't mentioned the more intimate moments to her last night because it was just that—a special intimate moment and part of me wanted to keep it all to myself. To have it be something that only Edward and I could share the details of.

"I guess I'm just scared," I admitted to her.

"Of what?" she asked.

"Feeling so much, so fast. It's like learning a foreign language. Everything feels all jumbled and confusing. When he kisses me my head spins, I don't know up from down, black from white, day from night. It completely overwhelms me. Is that normal? Is it crazy for me to think that I love him already?"

"It's not crazy. Not according to my parents anyway. They both claim they knew instantly that they would be together forever. Fell head over heels on day one. And as far as is it normal? Who cares if anyone else thinks it's normal? If it feels right to you, in your heart, that's all that matters. I think what might be so scary for you is that what you are feeling is so new to you."

"Maybe." I shrugged my shoulders unsure.

"Does it feel wrong or bad in anyway?"

"No. Not at all," I replied without hesitation. That was one thing I was sure of. Nothing with Edward felt wrong. It felt so very right. So natural. So amazing. What Alice said about it being new could be right. After all I'd never experienced anything like this before.

"I'm sure it is. But you have to remember to not overthink things, Bell. You can't help how you feel and if you love him then you love him. Don't fight it. He obviously cares very deeply for you too. If he didn't he wouldn't have cared about taking things too far with you. He would have done just the opposite."

"You're probably right," I told her.

"Probably? Of course I am. Just wait, as soon as you see him again you will feel so much better. I bet you laugh at yourself from how silly you will feel."

"Okay, Miss Confident."

"You'll see," she said with a confident smile.

We hugged again and as we did, I looked over her shoulder and saw the time on the bedside clock.

"Shit! We have to go."

Al twisted quickly to see the clock too. "Crap we do."

We barely had an hour and fifteen minutes until our flight left. Sure we were in the airport hotel, but we were still supposed to check in an hour ahead of time.

***{SIB}***

The flight to Baltimore had been uneventful. I had pouted for most of it in disappointment over not being able to reach Edward before we caught our flight. I had tried calling him but got some recorded message telling me that the call couldn't be completed as dialed at that time, to try again later.

Al had seemed to think that the cell signal was probably having issues getting through due to all the equipment used at the airport.

It felt weird walking through the airport. It was the same as it had been so many other times I had made the trek through it, but so much had changed too.

I had changed.

The airport wasn't very crowded so it didn't take us long to get our luggage.

"I'm going to go call Edward on the pay phone like you suggested. Are your parents here already or do we need to call them?" I asked as I rested my suitcases next to hers and began digging though my purse for some change for the phone. Her parents were supposed to be picking us both up, a fact which didn't really surprise me.

"They said for me to call when we landed."

"Okay. I'll be over at the payphones." I pointed to the area across the terminal where they were.

She nodded as she got out her phone.

"Isabella! Where's Mary Alice?" I heard from somewhere behind me. I turned slowly looking for the familiar voice and saw Al's younger sister Cindy being followed closely by her parents. Cindy had always found it amusing to call Al and me by our full names, annoying us to no end, even though she hated to be called Cynthia.

I sighed in frustration as I pointed in the direction where Al was. With the Brandons already here, I would have to wait until I got home to call Edward. Even if I reached him and he was willing to come get me from the airport, there was no way Mr. and Mrs. Brandon would let me stay here alone or leave with a man they didn't know.

With my hopes dashed of having a little bit of time with Edward before I got home, I slowly followed behind Al's family, listening to her mother inform her that they were already here and heading her way as they spoke. A second after Mrs. Brandon ended her call, I watched as Al looked up and spotted us walking towards her.

"Hi, guys," Al greeted them cheerfully as her mother pulled her into a hug.

"How was your trip?" her mother asked.

"It was great. We had a great time," she told them.

For a second it seemed unreal how easily she lied to them, but then it occurred to me that she really wasn't because the truth was we both really did have a great time. We just weren't together like they thought we were.

"Look at you both. You're glowing from your tans. Such beautiful girls," her mother praised as she wrapped us both up in her small arms. "Well we should be going. Bella, I am sure your parents are as excited to see you as we are Alice."

_She had no clue what my parents were really like. All they knew was the well calculated acting job my parents carried out when they were around them._

The ride to my home was filled with Al and her mother chattering back and forth, and an occasional question thrown in by her father and sister. I guess her mother just assumed that everything Al told them about included me since she never questioned me about any of the details Al was telling her. I was in my own little world for the most part and just stared out the window, wishing the minutes until I got to talk to Edward again would fly by faster.

When Mr. Brandon pulled up to the gated entrance of my driveway, I began to feel as though I might have a panic attack when the wide iron gates supported by the tall brick pillars came into view.

I quickly retrieved my remote opening device which was similar to an automatic garage door opener, only smaller, and opened the gate so we could drive up to the house.

Once the car came to a stop at the front of the house, Mr. Brandon got out and removed my luggage from the back of their Escalade for me. I glanced up at the massive brick structure looming before me. Between my time in the Dominican and the two week trip I'd been on with my and Al's families before that, it had been ten weeks since I had last been here. While two and a half months weren't really a long time, when I looked at the house where I'd lived all my life, it didn't feel like home any more. Something felt off. Odd. Wrong. Something was missing. I felt like I'd forgotten to bring something home with me or to be more accurate, like this wasn't home anymore. I felt lost.

Al nudged me bringing me out of my thoughts, causing me to realize Mrs. Brandon was talking to me. "Oh. I'm sorry. I was just thinking about being home, what were you saying?" I asked her in my attempt to cover how I was really feeling.

"I was just saying how good it was to have you and Alice back home. I would love to have you over for dinner one night before the two of you head off to college next week."

"That sounds great," I told her.

I had often wished my parents were much more like Mr. And Mrs. Brandon. It still amazed me how over the past couple of years our parents had become friends. Of course my parents never showed their real selves and I suspected that there was the possibility my father was simply looking at them as a financial backer and supporter in his political campaign. The differences in their everyday lifestyles varied too greatly for me to think anything else.

While they seemed to get along well enough and both sets of our parents were wealthy, not to mention both ran in the same social circles, they also shopped at the same stores. But that was where the similarities stopped. Their parenting styles, views on the important things in life and home lives were worlds apart. While my parents had a house full of employees to do everything for them, Mrs. Brandon took care of their home and expected both her daughters to help her do it, and I had seen both of Al's parents cook on different occasions. The Brandon's also drove themselves where they needed to be except when attending high profile big events.

My parents depended on Joseph to drive them everywhere. Joseph, or Joe as I was allowed to call him, had been employed by our family for years and his wife Becca was our housekeeper. We also had a cook, Mrs. Cope. To this day I still didn't know what her first name was. She claimed my parents would be displeased with her for sharing too much personal information with me if she was to tell me. My parents also each had their own personal assistants and my father now had two political advisors who he called 'his people', but to me the two of them came across as cold hearted, money hungry goons.

All three members of our house staff were wonderful, loving people whom I'd known all of my life and who had quite honestly done more for me than my parents had when it came to day to day living. When I needed motherly advice I had often gone to Al's mom, and Mrs. Brandon had always been more than happy to be there for me.

When Al and Cindy had been younger, the Brandons had a nanny paid to be on call whenever they needed her, but they only used her when they really had to. Al and I had babysat her sister on several occasions once we were old enough and now that Cindy was fourteen she was old enough to be left alone if her parents went out. Most of the time, the nanny only came if they were going to be out extremely late, or overnight and just recently when their parents went out of town for the weekend to celebrate their anniversary. Otherwise Mrs. Brandon was very hands on in raising her children.

My parents were so far removed from hands on parenting it was crazy. My nanny, Mrs. Newton, had lived in our home until she had been let go at the end of this school year. She had taken me to school, the doctor, helped me with my homework, took me shopping when I was younger and had tended to anything else that she could. Sure my parents did the things that were expected of them. They went to parent-teacher conferences, made sure there was a roof over my head and food for me to eat, even tried to instill in me the values they lived by and thought were important in order for me to grow up and be just like them. The problem was, the older I got the less like them I wanted to be. The things they valued meant very little to me. Power and social standing had no place in my life, so it was no wonder that after spending eight weeks around people who truly cared about the wellbeing of others, not just themselves, I felt a bit out of sorts about the prospect of being back here.

_Thank God it was only for a little more than a week._

I climbed out of the large vehicle when Mr. Brandon pulled the door open. _Another thing my father would never do. He had someone to do it for him. _ Al must have seen the look of dread on my face.

"What's the matter?" she asked as she hugged me. "You not looking forward to being Bella Swan again?"

"That's only the half of it, Al," I mumbled against her shoulder.

"Hey, I was only joking," she said backing up and taking in the solemn expression on my face.

"He doesn't know, Al. I never told him about my last name. How am I supposed to do that now?"

I was starting to shake lightly just at the thought of it.

"Edward?" she asked softly.

"Yes," I whispered.

She turned back to her mom's car door and tapped on the window. When Mrs. Brandon rolled it down, Al said to her, "Bella just told me that her parents wanted to hear all about our trip from us both. So is it alright if we do that now? I'm sure Bella can run me home in just an hour or two at the most."

"Sure, honey. Just don't be too long. We want to spend some more time with you before you leave for school next week."

"Thanks, Mom." Al kissed her on the cheek and then turned back to me. "Let's go fill in your parents on all our fun." She winked and then linked her arm around mine as we made our way to the massive wooden door being held open by Becca as she stood waiting to be told where to put my luggage.

"We'll take it from here, Becca. Thank you," I told her.

"Your parents are out for the evening. They said they'd catch up with you tomorrow." I nodded, not surprised to find them gone. "Did you want me to have Mrs. Cope prepare you something for dinner?" she asked.

"No. I can find something on my own if I get hungry later."

She smiled and told me welcome home before heading to the back of the house where there was a large room for all of the house employees to entertain themselves while they were still on duty, but not busy doing something around the house. I grabbed my suitcase handle and pulled it behind me up the stairs while Al grabbed the smaller one that she had brought for me.

Opening the door to my room, I sighed. I hadn't been thrilled with the decor of my room before I'd left, but coming home to the sterile white environment that my mother had chosen two years ago when I'd asked to redecorate, was depressing compared to all the colors I'd been surrounded by all summer. I longed for the vivid blues of the ocean and the warm tan tones of the beach and more than anything the vibrant green of Edward's eyes. When the room had been redone, I had wished I'd been able to have some say, but Mother had done it behind my back and when I had complained, she had gone on and on stating that it was serene and calming and that I'd thank her when I found it easy to relax in. I relaxed alright. It put me right to sleep it was so dull.

_I'm going to buy the most vividly colorful bedding set I can find when I get to school. _

I sat down on my bed and fell backwards, releasing a loud groan of frustration. "What am I going to do?"

Al plopped down on the bed next to me, rolling onto her side and propping her head up in her hand so she could talk to me. "Frist fill me in on what he does know."

"He knows we live in the same city and that we'll be at the same school. He knows why volunteering this summer was so important to me and that I want to be a nurse and how much I enjoy helping others."

"So if he knows why you wanted to volunteer, does he know about your parents?"

"Partially. He knows how different I am from them and how I don't want to live the life they want for me and why. But he doesn't know that they weren't aware of where I was all summer," I explained.

"And he doesn't know that you dropped part of your last name either right?"

"Nope. He's going to hate me, Al. I don't know why I'm even bothering with calling him. Maybe I'd be better off just forgetting about him."

"Do you really think you could do that?"

_Could I? Could I just not call him and make up something stupid if I happened to bump into him at school? _

"No. I could never do that to him. Trying to pretend I'd never met him would be like trying to pretend the sun doesn't rise in the east or that you're not my best friend. It would be like trying to not breathe. It's impossible."

"I didn't think so," she told me with a knowing smile. "You already love him too much to think about letting him go. But I think that will play in your favor."

"What do you mean?"

"Because if you've fallen for him that hard then I'm pretty confident in saying he's probably fallen for you just as much," she declared confidently.

"And you're basing that on what?" I asked, curious what her reasoning was. She was judging the feelings of a guy she'd never met and I wanted to know how. I needed to know why she was so confident so that maybe I could have some hope she was right.

"Because you've been so indifferent about dating in the past and have resisted the guys that wanted to date you for a while now. His feelings have to be pretty strong and sincere to have you in so deep in such a short time. I know you, Isabella, my dear friend, and your head might be doubting everything, but your heart isn't. Your heart feels what he feels for you and that's what has allowed you to fall for him and why his being in just as deeply as you are will help you. You wouldn't have even for a fraction of a second thought about going all the way with him if you didn't feel he was in as deep as you. Are you seeing what I'm saying? Try to not overthink things.

"Okay so maybe I am overthinking things. But what if you're wrong? What if he's so angry he ends things?"

"Oh, Bell, honey." She pulled me to her in a hug. "Look," she said pushing me back from her so I could see her as she talked to me. Squeezing my hand she continued, "I don't know Edward and I wish I could give you a guarantee, but I can't. But I can tell you that if you really feel for him as deeply as I think you do then, it's worth the risk. True love is worth it. You have to hold on to hope; without hope then there's nothing left."

"Yeah?" I sniffled and fought the urge to cry.

"Yeah. Like I said I can't promise you he won't be angry. He might be really mad at you at first. But if his feelings for you are sincere, and I think they are, he will forgive you. It might take him a little bit of time to get over it, but I don't think he wants to let go of you either."

"Okay, when I talk to him tonight, I will tell him that I need to talk to him in person about something important. I don't want to let it go on any longer."

"I think that's a good idea. I also think that even if he is mad, he will get why you kept this from him. It's not like you were out to deceive people maliciously. You had legitimate reasons. So stop doubting how he feels about you. He would have to be very mean and cruel to give you all the attention he did, the super sweet nickname, put fort so much effort to spend as much of his last day there with you and ask you to be his girlfriend if he were stringing you along. Mark my words, Bell, he's in deep too."

"I love you, Al." I hugged her tightly.

"I love you too, Bell."

"Ugh going to different schools is going to suck," I groaned.

"Yeah it is, but we just spent eight weeks apart. If we can get through that, then we can get through anything. Remember, 'sisters from different misters'."

"Forever!" I replied.

"That's right. Now come on, you have to take me home."

***{SIB}***

About forty-five minutes later I was back home and sitting on the edge of my bed staring at my phone like it was going to make the call all by itself.

_You can do this, Bella. Just call the man. You know you're dying to hear his voice and right now he's probably dying to hear yours too. _

I took a deep breath and found his name in my contracts list and pressed the call button.

"This has to be some kind of mistake," I muttered to myself and hung up and pressed the button again.

I tried over and over and over again. I must have dialed his number seven or eight times and each time I got the same thing.

Each time my heart pounded harder and my breathing sped up.

Each time I felt the panic creeping in and taking a tighter hold on me.

Each time I felt all the hope slipping away from me.

Each time I dialed the number the same recording played. "We're sorry. We could not complete your call as dialed. The number you called has been changed or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this message in error, please hang up and try again."

As the tears started to fall, everything Al had said to me went flying out the window and all my fears came crashing down on me. In my panic all sorts of questions were filling me with more and more dread and despair.

Did he give me the wrong number?

Did he accidentally input the wrong number?

Did he lead me on?

Did he even care at all?

Would I ever see Edward Cullen again?

I didn't know what to think. All I could do was curl into a ball on and feel the pain of my heart being ripped form my chest as my whole world crashed down upon me.

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**Who wants to cry with Bella? I know I do. We will see how Edward is fairing next chapter and find out what the deal it with his phone. **

**Don't forget to stop by the blog and see the pictures for this chapter.  
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**Until next time, let me know what ya think.  
**

**EA  
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	9. Waiting For A Girl Like You

**Hi, Everyone, I hope you all had a great week and you're ready to see what Edward has been up to. As always this chapter wouldn't be what it is without the help of My-Bella and Hope4more. You guys rock!  
**

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

**See ya at the bottom.  
**

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**August 8, 2011**

***{Edward}***

"God, Bright Eyes, I missed you so damn much. It feels so good to have you in my arms again," I told her as I peppered kisses all over her face and neck. I wanted to press my lips against every inch of her silky skin. "I can't believe you're finally here with me in my house, in my arms and on my bed."

"Believe it 'cause it's true." She kissed up the side of my neck and across my jaw.

Innocent or not the girl was driving me fucking crazy with need. We'd been on my bed kissing, grasping, caressing, wrapped around, and holding on to each other for the past hour since she'd gotten here. As a result I had a hard-on that felt like a titanium steel rod in my shorts and it was taking everything I had not to flip her over and ravage every inch of her body until she screamed my name.

Her lips moved further across my jaw until she reached my lips. Once our lips met, I instantly slipped my tongue in to her mouth and moaned internally at just how damn good it felt. The longer we kissed, the closer she was pressed up against me. We were lost in one another after being apart for the last three weeks, and I soon found my hand skimming up under her shirt, cupping the soft mound of her breast. She felt so good in my hand. She was perfect. I was dying for more, but trying to maintain some sense of control. But when her leg came up and hitched over my hip, my hard-on lined up against her perfectly and I lost all control when she ground her pelvis against me.

Quickly rolling her over, I settled in perfectly between her legs. All thoughts of trying to stop fled my mind the second our lips crashed together again and we flexed our hips at the same time seeking some sort of relief from the sensations that were rapidly consuming us both.

"I know I said it was too soon before, Bella, but I can't wait any longer. I have to have you now. I need to make love to you and make you mine in every way."

"Make love to me, Edward. Show me how much you've missed me," she panted against my chest as her hands gripped the sides of my shirt and started pulling it up and off me.

Beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep…beep

"Fuck!" I groaned, rolling over and smacking the alarm clock on the bedside table so hard I knocked it to the floor. For nearly four weeks now I had woken up from a similar dream. The longer I went without seeing Bella, the more graphic and desperate my dreams became. They would start out with her wrapped around me at the waterfall like she'd been the afternoon we spent there and morph into us wrapped around each other in my bedroom. I didn't know which was worse torture—reliving our time at the waterfall or wishing for the scene in my bedroom to be real. What I did know was every morning when I woke up from those dreams, I cursed the damn airline over and over again for losing my backpack which had my cell phone inside it, preventing me from being able to talk to my Bright Eyes.

After pounding my fist into the pillow in frustration, I threw the covers off of me and reluctantly pulled myself up in a sitting position on the edge of the bed. I scrubbed my hands over my face as I tried to shake the images of my dreams from my head. They were driving me crazy with want and need of Bella. Grabbing a towel, a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, I stood and pulled on a pair of sleep pants so I could head down the hall to take a shower. And well…take care of the problem my dreams had once again created in my boxers.

I stepped out of the guest room of my uncle's house as my cousin Jasper walked by. "Morning," I murmured in my still somewhat frustrated and half asleep state.

"Morning," he called, looking over his shoulder at me with a wide smirk on his face. "What's with the grumpy face?"

"Didn't sleep all that great," I replied, running my hand through my hair. "What's with the shit-eating grin you got plastered on yours?"

"Well from the sounds coming out of that room when I walked by a few minutes ago, it sure sounded like you were sleeping pretty damn good to me."

"Fuck my life," I mumbled gruffly to myself, wishing for the privacy of my own home. Releasing a long sigh I asked, "Did uh…anyone else hear?"

"Nah, man, just me." The cocky grin he had before returned in full force. "You must really be missing that girl of yours."

"Like you wouldn't believe, but that's only the half of it," I told him.

"Yeah? So what's the rest?"

"She was supposed to call me when she got back in Baltimore, but the fucking airline lost my backpack and my phone was in it. Which means I haven't been able to contact her to tell her?"

"Well why the heck not, dude? Why haven't you called her?" he asked like it should have been an easy situation to fix.

"I would…If I had her number."

"What? Why the hell don't you?"

"I know, okay? I know it sounds crazy messed up that I don't. But at the time it just didn't cross my mind to get it. I knew she wouldn't be able to call until she got back in the States, so giving her my number seemed good enough at the time. I figured she'd call me when she got home and her number would show up on my screen, I'd save it and all would be good," I told him.

"Only it didn't work out that way and now you're screwed."

"Yeah," I replied and went on to explain the rest of what happened with my phone. "I thought it would be easy, I wasn't that concerned about the lost phone. I thought all I'd have to do is go to our carrier and get a replacement. And I did."

"Okay," he said as he continued to listen.

"Problem came when after I explained the situation to them, they insisted they had to disconnect my old number for security purposes and insisted I get a new number in order to be certain that I wasn't charged for any calls that I didn't make in case my old phone landed in the hands of someone who thought they'd be able to use it on my dime. They said it happens all the time."

"And so since you didn't get her number, and you were forced to get a new one, it leaves you stuck with no way to get in touch with her."

"Exactly. And it really sucks. I have no clue what she must be thinking. When I had to tell her we were leaving to come home early, she thought I was dumping her. Who knows what the hell she might be thinking now."

"I agree that's pretty messed up. But if she's as great as you say she is, then I'm sure she'll understand once you explain it all to her," Jasper said, looking sincerely sympathetic.

"I sure hope you are right. I'm telling ya, she's something special and I don't want it to end."

"Of course I'm right. You off to shower?" he asked nodding his head at the towel and clothes in my hand.

"Yeah. Where are you off too?"

"Breakfast. You coming down after you're done?"

"Yep. See you down there."

He nodded and was on his way.

***{SIB}***

As the hot water hit my shoulders and ran down my back, all my thoughts returned to Bella. I missed everything about her. The sound of her voice, her smile, her sarcasm and the way her eyes would sparkle when she was being mischievous or teasing me and especially the way they'd grow darker and smolder when I kissed her. God did I miss kissing her. The way her soft sweet lips would meld perfectly together with mine in complete synchronicity. It made me yearn for her just from thinking about it, which did nothing but arouse the same reaction in my body that I'd woken up with.

My worries about what sort of crazy ideas Bella might have running through her head resurfaced along with how much I missed her.

"Damn it," I growled at myself.

I was trying my damnedest not to jump to any conclusions. But with how she had reacted when I had told her I had to leave the Dominican early, I couldn't help but worry that she might think I had abandoned her. That I had forgotten her—or worse, lied to her about my feelings for her. I really liked her. A lot. Maybe it was even more than like. All I knew was she was exactly the kind of girl I'd been waiting for, but never thought I'd find. In the short time I had known her she had become very special, very important to me, and I didn't want to lose her or the relationship we had begun to share.

What the hell was I going to do if she was so hurt that she didn't want anything to do with me anymore? She had been so quick to think I was going to end things with her when I took her to the waterfall to tell her I had to leave the DR early. I was afraid she would be having those types of fears again despite what Jasper had said about her understanding. I knew she'd been home for nearly a week now, and I could kick myself for not getting her number too. But I didn't. I had made promises to her and I knew with all the thoughts of worry I was having that she surely must be having fears and worries of her own. Instead of spending the last couple of weeks until school started showing Bella around campus and doing all the things I promised her we'd do, I was stuck here waiting.

Suddenly another thought popped into my head and it sent chills running through me despite the hot temperature of the water I was standing under.

"No!" I barked to myself. The thought I was having sucked all the air from my lungs, leaving me leaning with my head resting against the tile wall, trying to catch my breath as I begged the possibility of Bella moving-on with someone else to leave my head.

I couldn't stand that thought. It felt like my insides were being twisted and contorted in all sorts of unnatural ways, making me feel violently ill. She was mine. I had never felt so possessive over anyone I had ever dated before. But when it came to Bella, for some reason I just couldn't help myself. In fact when it came to Bella, all reasoning went right out the window.

_Get a grip, Cullen. Your imagination is just fucking with you. Besides you'd beat the shit out of any fucker who dared lay a hand on her. Just calm your ass down and wait for your dad to find out what he can. _

I took a few long pulls of air and finally got myself calmed down a bit. It would do me no good to let my thoughts get the best of me. I just had to remain patient until school actually began so my dad could use a few connections he had at the nursing school to try to find out at least her dorm room number or when she had a class, anything so that I could go to her and explain what had happened.

Once finished with my shower, I got dressed and headed down to the kitchen to see what was for breakfast. Entering the kitchen I saw there was a huge spread of scrambled eggs, hash brown potatoes and bacon, along with toast, sausage, and biscuits and gravy covering the island in the middle of the room. Piling my plate with way more than I probably should, I made my way into the dining room where I found that I was the last one to join the family breakfast.

"Good morning, honey," my mom said as I sat down in the empty spot between her and Jasper.

"Good morning," I returned and leaned over to give her a quick peck on the cheek as she turned her attention back to the conversation she was having with my dad, my Aunt Liz, Uncle Tyler and my grandmother Barbara, or Granny Babs as she insisted I call her. They seemed to be locked in a conversation about the arrangements that still needed to be made for my grandfather's funeral.

I had never seen my father more saddened and torn up than he had been a couple of nights ago when his father passed away. Dad and the team of doctors that had been treating my grandfather had done everything they could including trying an experimental treatment. But despite all their efforts the damage to his heart and kidneys had been too severe for him to recover from. I had also never seen Dad so weary before. Sure I'd seen him exhausted from the hard work his job called for, I'd even seen him distressed over the loss of a patient before. But this was different. It was more personal which made it all that much harder to deal with. The long hours spent at the hospital doing everything he could to save Bartholomew, and the emotional strain he'd been under was taking a toll on him. It was taking a toll on all of us in some way.

While wanting to see Bella was the main thing that occupied my mind, it left me feeling frustrated in more than one way so I turned to talk with Jasper and his sister Rosalie, hoping for something more positive to focus on as I also dug into my food. My cousins and me were still trying to catch up on everything that had gone on in our lives since the last time I'd seen them. That had been six years ago at my high school graduation. I was glad to see the three of us were getting along fairly well. We always had before but you never knew how a person might change in that amount of time.

"So, Rose. Jasper tells me he's focusing on the state and local government part of law at Georgetown. How about you? You following along with the Cullen tradition too?" I asked her, genuinely interested in getting to know her better.

Jasper seemed like a pretty cool, down to earth guy. He was a year older than me and was about to begin his third year of law school, in a graduate program focusing on state and local government law at Georgetown in DC. He had political aspirations like my Uncle Tyler and as charming and charismatic as Jasper seemed to be, I had a feeling he was going into the right line of business. However I had noticed that Rose at times seemed to come off as being the spoiled, rich, high society princess she looked like. But Jasper had told me it was a front. That she looked at it as a role she was supposed to play at times and that once I was around her more, I'd see her with her guard down and see the truly sweet and caring person he knew her to be.

"No," she replied. After taking a drink of her juice to wash down her bite of food she elaborated more. "I mean, I am interested in law. Just not in the same sense as my father and Jasper are."

"What do you mean?" I shoved a fork full of potatoes in my mouth and chewed while waiting for her reply.

She smiled in almost a shy way that surprised me. It was completely opposite of how you'd expect a spoiled rich girl to act when asked about herself. Maybe I did have her pegged all wrong.

"Well," she began. "I'm more of an investigative type girl. I want to know all there is about law, especially criminal law, but I'm not one to want to be in the spotlight arguing the cases.

"Really?" I asked trying not to sound completely surprised as I lifted my glass of orange juice and downed the rest of it.

"Shocking I know," she retorted with a smirk that let me know she understood why I was surprised and that she wasn't put off by my response. "Most people would think that I'd want to be up in the front of the courthouse arguing to get whatever point I wanted across. But that's not really who I am. I love digging for information on the people involved, for past cases that may set a precedent, doing all the background investigation work that is needed to see a case through."

"Sounds like an episode of _CSI _or _Law and Order_," Jasper interjected, teasing his sister.

"Yeah, I guess it does," she said looking over at him. "However chasing down thugs isn't my thing either. I'd much rather be the one to help make sure there is enough evidence to lock them away. A good paralegal is just as crucial to any lawyer as good nurses are to doctors. Surely you can understand that," she said turning her attention back to me.

"Definitely," I told her, seeing Jasper was right about his sister. Not that I ever really thought he was wrong, I just hadn't seen the side of her he had said was there. But she spoke with a lot passion about what she wanted to do and I could totally relate to how she felt, given I felt the same way about what I wanted to do.

"Besides," she added. "I'm only twenty. There is still plenty of time for me to go on to law school if I should change my mind."

"Very true. Are you at Georgetown too?" I asked.

"No. I was happy to forgo the commute back and forth between here and DC, given the pre-law program at Baltimore U is just as good as the one at Georgetown."

I guess if there was one bright side to all of this, it was reconnecting with my cousins. Jasper and I were getting along really well and becoming friends again. While my mother and I didn't have an emotional connection to my grandfather, we did have one with my aunt, uncle, cousins and especially my father. I didn't want to sound like I was glad my grandfather was dead, but I was really hopeful that we could become more of a family this time around. When I looked at my father and saw the grief he was experiencing, even with how cruel his father had been to him, I could see that it was something he wanted too, perhaps even needed.

Then there was my grandmother. I might not have really known her, but it was easy to see how devastated she was over the loss of her husband. They had been together for more than fifty years, and I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a person after that amount of time. To suffer that great of a loss. Hell I was having a hard enough time now having only been away from Bella for almost four weeks and I had only known her a few months. My grandmother must have felt as though she'd lost a huge part of herself with my grandfather's passing.

Thinking about being with someone for so long, and sharing so much of your life with them, brought me back to the way I felt for Bella and how much I missed her. I was glad the first day of school was only a few days away because I didn't know how much longer I could go on without seeing her, kissing her, and holding her in my arms.

"Edward," my mother called, drawing me out of my thoughts. "Did you bring your suit with you or do you need to go by the house and get it?"

"I need to go get it. Why?"

"I forgot to bring a sweater I wanted to wear with my dress. Would you grab it for me when you go?"

"Sure, Mom."

"What time does the visitation begin tonight?" Rose asked.

"Immediate family at five and then there will be open viewing for friends and the public an hour later," my uncle replied to her.

"Okay. Well I've got some errands to run. A few last minute things I need to get before classes begin next week. Are we all going together?" she asked her father.

"Yes, I've arranged for the car service to pick us up at four-thirty," he answered her.

"Alrighty then. I'm off." She got up and took her plate with her as she left the room, stopping briefly to kiss her father on the cheek and hug her mother and grandmother.

"I guess I should go too." I stood up and stretched. "Which sweater is it that you need, Mom?"

"The all black one, honey. It should be lying over the chair by my side of mine and your father's bed."

"Okay." I grabbed my plate and kissed her on the cheek before looking over to my cousin. "Jasper, you wanna tag along?"

"Sure. Let's go."

***{SIB}***

Jasper and I had the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon to kill before we had to head back to his house and get ready for the funeral. As we walked out to the garage, he offered to drive and I didn't argue. I loved my jeep just fine, but I couldn't help but love Jasper's sixty-seven Camaro too. With its sleek, almost wet looking shiny black paint, and its spotless chrome wheels, it was a badass ride and I was more than happy to go for a spin in it.

We hopped into his car and were off. About half way to my house I thought of a way for us to pass the time we had.

"Since we have so much time on our hands, you up for a game or two of pool while catching the Orioles game?"

"Sounds great," he replied before shaking his head back and forth with a sarcastic smirk on his face and adding, "I guess the Orioles wheel cover on your jeep should have been a dead giveaway that you're a diehard fan."

"Yeah, I guess I am," I told him. Then a thought occurred to me. "Wait. You're not a Nationals fan are you?"

With DC being so close to Baltimore and him going to school there, the tone in his voice had left me wondering which team his baseball loyalties were with.

"What if I was?" he asked, looking straight ahead as he drove and not showing any sign of whether he was just yanking my chain or being serious.

"Aw come on, man. You can't be a Washington Nationals fan. That would be like…well like a New Yorker liking the Red Sox or…or someone in St. Louis liking the Cubs. It's like sacrilegious or something."

"Sacrilegious? That's a bit much don't ya think?"

"You are, aren't you? Does your dad know? If I remember correctly he's a pretty big Orioles fan himself."

"He is. But just because he is doesn't mean I have to be."

"Wow," I said and shook my head in disbelief. "You do know that's really fucked up, man."

He let out some sort of noise that was a cross between a huff and a snort and kept on driving.

About ten minutes later we pulled up in front of the condo I lived in with my parents. I was here by myself a lot with them traveling to volunteer so much, but I wasn't desperate enough for company or roommates that I would rather live in a crowed dormitory. I'd tried that my freshman year and quickly missed having my own space and the quiet time for studying.

As we pulled up to the back of the condo, I saw the familiar huge truck that Emmett drove. It was a nineteen-eighty International Harvester Scout II that he had completely restored himself. It looked like a cross between a convertible pickup truck and a jeep.

I chuckled to myself as I remembered the day he first drove up in the big old, beat up, hunk of red banged up metal. I had to give him credit though. He had a vision from day one of what he wanted to do with the truck and he didn't stop until it was exactly just how he imagined it to be according to that vision. The red paint was now bright and fresh, the chrome details and wheels sparkled and the dents were gone, as were the rips in the seats. He had also completely redone the removable hard top that was currently off to enjoy the late summer weather.

"McCarty!" I yelled, sticking my head out the window to get his attention before he drove off.

Sensing I was trying to get Emmett's attention, Jasper honked the horn on his, causing Emmett to stick his head out the window of his truck and look back at us.

"Is that you, Cullen?" he called out.

I jumped out of the car as soon as Jasper stopped it.

"Hey," I said as he climbed out of his truck. "What's up?"

"Wasn't sure if you were back from saving the world yet," he said grasping my hand and pulling me in for one of those one armed man hugs. "Just thought I'd stop by and see if you were and if you wanted to catch the game and toss back a few cold ones."

"That's what we were about to do."

"Who's your new friend, Cullen? You been cheating on me?"

"Fuck you, Emmett."

"I'm Jasper. Cullen's cousin." He held his hand out to my obnoxious friend. Emmett shook it without hesitation. "And he's not cheating with me, but it's definitely not your name he's calling out in his sleep."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Emmett called after shaking Jasper's hand. "Ed, my man," he added as he turned back to me and thumped his huge paw of a hand down on my shoulder, grasping it and giving me a slightly rough shake. "You find some little senorita down there in the DR that has you getting freaky in your dreams?"

I rolled my eyes at my friend's antics and looked over at my cousin. "Thanks, Jasper. See what you've started now."

"Man, I told you, you should have tapped some of that ass we saw in Miami the night before you left," Emmett said continuing his rant.

"And like I told you then, I'll tell you now. I don't tap ass that I don't know," I stated, knowing full well he was already well aware of that fact.

Trying to put an end to the conversation before it went any further and Emmett was begging for details about my dreams, I suggested we head in to watch the game.

As we walked up to the door, I caught myself thinking about my dreams and the fact that I was being so protective over the details. I had never really had such vivid dreams about any of the girls I'd dated in the past nor had I been so against sharing any of the details about it with Emmett.

Now I wasn't one to go around blurting out every single detail of my private life, but guys were guys and we did talk about stuff and share some details about the girls in our lives. Not nearly as much as girls did, but we shared some stuff. It was enough having Jasper know who the dreams were about. And even that seemed like too much. Everything with Bella was different. It felt special and I felt like I needed to treat it that way. It felt like an invasion of something sacred for everyone to know. I wanted to savor every detail of my time with Bella as well as my dreams about her and keep them all to myself.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard Emmett pestering Jasper for the name of the girl I'd been saying in my dreams.

"Come on. It's like guy code or something. You have to tell me, man," Emmett pleaded.

"Sorry. You're going to have to get that info from my cousin. It's not my story to tell," Jasper said, shooting down my best friend's hopes of gaining information to give me shit over.

I sighed as I dug my keys out of my pocket, grateful for Jasper's respect of my privacy.

Emmett huffed and grumbled a little in mock annoyance while they both followed me through the entrance, which lead into the lower level of our condo. Entering the room I realized how much I missed the familiar surroundings of the game room which took up the entire lowest level of the three that encompassed our condo. We had spent most of our time at my aunt and uncle's house since coming home, but when I was here, this was where I spent most of my time besides my bedroom.

"Nice set up you got here," Jasper said as he took in the room.

The far wall had a gas fireplace with a large flat screen TV mounted above it, flanked on both sides by built-in wall shelving units. Directly in front of the TV and fire place there was an overstuffed white sofa with two matching chairs directly across from it. Behind the sofa was a large window seat. That covered one side of the room and the other side was filled with a full sized pool table and a foosball table up against the wall behind it.

"Thanks," I replied as I caught the bottle of beer Emmett had tossed at me.

Having been here so much the place was like a second home to him and he knew where everything was—like the mini-fridge that was hidden inside the bottom cabinet of the built-ins on the left side of the TV and the snacks and small microwave that was tucked behind the doors of the built-in on the right.

"Alright, let's go O's," Emmett chanted as I picked up the remote and turned the TV on.

We hung out and talked about baseball and Emmett's summer, along with Jasper and Emmett getting to know each other a bit. They seemed to hit it off right away.

After watching a few innings and drinking a couple of beers each, the three of us got a little restless and decided to get a game of pool going while watching the rest of the game.

Emmett was about to take his turn when an argument erupted in the game. "You see that shit?" I asked him.

"What fucking game is that umpire watching?" he howled. "Jones was clearly safe by a mile. Lombardozzi's foot came off the bag."

"Maybe Jones should have stopped at first instead of trying to make it a double," Jasper said calmly like he was talking about his shoe size or some other mundane thing.

I just shook my head at Jasper's comment. However, when I looked up I saw Emmett gawking at him like he'd just committed some unforgiveable crime.

_Yeah, Emmett was just as big of an Orioles fan as I was. _

"Aw hell no," Emmett huffed. Pointing his pool cue at Jasper, he looked back to where I was standing at the other end of the pool table and said, "Cullen, I can't believe you brought the enemy into your home. That's just so wrong."

"I know. Hard to believe a guy born and raised here in Birdland can cheer for those chumps."

Emmett took his shot and missed. "See, now I can't even make my shots I'm so scarred." He grabbed his bottle of beer and chugged the rest of it. Tossing the empty bottle in the trash he added, "I might need something stronger than this to get through the afternoon if I'm going to be forced to consort with the likes of a traitor."

"It must be all those legal yuppies he hangs with up in DC," I declared.

"Wow," Jasper said, following it with a low whistle.

"Hey I tried to tell you on the way here how wrong it was," I reminded him.

Jasper just shrugged it off and took his shot, obviously not letting my or Emmett's comments phase him in the least when he made the shot perfectly.

After our game of pool was over, we ordered a pizza and ate as we watched the end of the game. It was down to the last two outs and the Nationals were threatening to take the win away from the O's. The three of us sat there glued to the screen as the batter swung his bat. He made contact and the ball sailed through the air. The outfielder caught it at the last minute with his back nearly up against the outfield wall. But just as he did, the runner on third took a chance and darted for home plate.

We watched as the outfielder hurled the ball in, trying to keep him from scoring. The shortstop caught the ball and spun, then throwing the ball to the catcher. It felt like time nearly stopped as we watched the catcher catch the ball and tag the runner on the arm as he dove, trying to slide in under the tag and touch plate with his hand. When the umpire gave the signal that the tag had been made for the third out, giving the Orioles the win, all three of us hooted and cheered for them. We high fived and chanted good game to one another.

It took me a second to realize that Jasper had just celebrated the Orioles win with Emmett and me. He smirked when he saw the look of confusion wash over my face as the realization hit me.

"I never said I was a Nationals fan. You just assumed," he said grabbing his bottle of water and taking a long swig of it. "Surely Aunt Esme has taught you what happens when you assume, man. You make an ass out of—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I grumbled to him. "Jackass, I can't believe you didn't say anything."

"What can I say, it was fun watching you get all bent out of shape," he admitted, with a wide smirk on his face.

"I think I'm gonna like you, man," Emmett barked happily, as he gave Jasper a playful punch in the arm.

***{SIB}***

The ride to the funeral home felt weird. Besides the mood being very somber, it seemed strange—odd to be riding in a limousine, but my Uncle Tyler had insisted upon it.

The last time I had been in one had been the night of my senior prom in high school, and I had scrimped and saved in order to pay for it myself in order to impress my date, Jennie De Luca. I smiled remembering the little Italian spitfire. She was a really sweet girl, unless you pissed her off. Then her Italian temper came roaring to life. I had enjoyed dating her, but her father was in the military so our time together had been cut short when he'd received a transfer to another base half way across the country.

Even then, having paid for the limo myself, it still had felt weird to be driven around by someone else and the one I had rented for the evening back then hadn't been nearly as big as this one. I could see that my parents weren't exactly completely comfortable with our mode of transportation either. My mother was fidgety and my dad looked anxious. However watching my aunt, uncle, grandmother and cousins sit relaxed, it was as if it were an everyday occurrence for them.

The limo came to a stop in front of the funeral home and the driver exited the car and came around to open the door for us. We walked in together with my father and uncle both assisting my grandmother. A funeral home attendant showed us to the parlor where my grandfather was being laid out for his family and friends to pay their last respects.

As the evening wore on I had been introduced to an astounding amount of people who I was sure I'd probably never see again. After a short time, I wasn't sure I'd be able to accurately tell you who most of them were. Jasper and I were just returning from stepping out to use the restroom and getting something to drink, when I noticed my uncle talking to a tall dark haired man who he didn't appear to be pleased to see.

"Who's that?" I quietly asked Jasper.

"Who?" he asked in response.

I gave my head a slight nod in the direction of his father. "That man over there talking to your dad."

"You don't know who he is?" I could tell that he was somewhat shocked that I didn't know who this man was. If his raised eyebrows and wide eyes didn't say it, then the tone of his voice definitely did.

His reaction had me beginning to feel like an idiot. He now had me wondering if maybe I had been introduced to his man earlier in the evening and he was one of the many faces whose name I had already forgotten.

"No I don't. There is something very familiar about him, but I don't know why. I don't think I've ever seen him before," I explained, hoping my cousin didn't think I was a complete moron if I had in fact been introduced to this man already and that was why he seemed familiar.

"Well you have probably seen a lot of him on TV. Although maybe not with you having been out of the country the past several weeks. But you will if you haven't," Jasper said.

"Okay, but that doesn't tell me who he is. And why would I see him on TV? Does he work at the firm with your dad? Is he involved in some high profile case or something?"

"He's the competition." Jasper made this statement like it should be crystal clear to me but I was still completely in the dark.

"I'm sorry, Jazz. I don't mean to sound dense, but you're going to have to spell it out for me."

He chuckled and shook his head at me a few times. "I forget that you and your parents have been out of the family loop for so long. Since you guys have been here the past few weeks, it just seems like you've always been here."

"I know. It's been really great to be around. Even Granny Babs has been okay," I said making us both laugh. "So…you going to tell me or do I have to pry it out of you? The guy is obviously some upscale somebody or another. You can tell by the way he carries himself and that expensive suit he's wearing."

"You are right about that. He's the guy who will be running against my dad this fall when the mayoral race begins."

"Oh, yeah? Who is he?"

"Charles Swan."

"Never heard of him," I told Jasper with a shrug of my shoulders.

Maybe I had seen him on TV in one of those hideous political ads and that was why he seemed so familiar to me. But for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was more. I made a mental note to ask my dad about it later and let it go for now. This wasn't the time or place to worry about it. Plus it wasn't like who he was would have any effect on me.

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**Just a one more thing before I go this time.**

**Last year I donated a one shot to the Fandom for Luekemia and Lymphoma Society-Fandom4LLS fundraiser. Our amazing and wonderful fandom raised $5,500 for this most deserving cause. We'd like to beat that amount this year and hope that all of you, our fantastic readers, will help us do that. All it takes is a $5.00 donation to get the entire compilation, and donations over $20 are tax deductible. The list of Twilight authors that have signed up to contribute to the compilation is long and amazing, including many who signed up last year and some new ones as well. And for those of you out there who are Hunger Games fans too, they have also expanded the compilation to include those authors and stories as well. **

**My-Bella and myself are both donating Twilight one-shots again this year and hope you can help us with this extremely worthy cause. Don't wait though, you only have until _August 30th_ to make your donation. For more information, the link is on my profile page and on my blog as well.**

**Thanks so much for reading. I can't wait to see what you think of this chapter and hear what you think is going to happen next. Don't forget to head on over to the blog and check out the pics to go with it.  
**

**See ya next time. Until then let me know what ya think.  
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**EA  
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	10. If I Ever See You Again

**Hi, Everyone. I know you are all probably thinking, finally. I am so sorry. I hate that it has been so long since my last update. Real life has been not so nice to me and it affected my ability to right. I just wasn't in the right frame of mind. Believe me, I wish I could have just lived in Edward and Bella's world and hid from it all but it just wasn't possible. As Matchbox 20 says in one of their songs, "I wish the real world would just stop hassling me." LOL  
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**Anyways, can't wait to see what you think. As always my thanks to My-Bella and Hope4more.  
**

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

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**August 19, 2011**

***{Bella}***

"Mom, just stop, okay?"

She had been nagging me all week, trying to change my mind about going to nursing school and wasn't showing any signs of stopping as she followed me down to my car.

I was tired. Extremely so. Sleep was not something I was getting a lot of. It had been ten days since I'd returned to Baltimore. Ten days since I'd learned I wouldn't be able to reach Edward. Ten days since my heart had broken in two and instead of it getting easier to deal with, it was getting worse. I was devastated and was having a hard time trying to handle it.

So with the combination of all my emotional turmoil, packing and moving my stuff to my dorm room, and my nagging mother, I was about to explode. I was crabby and just wanted to be left alone.

I shoved the last box into my trunk and shut it before turning around and leaning against my car. I took in the sight of my mother standing there with her hands on her hips, looking like she was about to scold a two year old.

"What?" I asked her.

She gave me a look of frustration and then released a long sigh. "Isabella, why are you doing this?"

I laughed sarcastically at her. "You really haven't been listening to a word I've said all week, have you?"

"Look," she said taking a step closer to me. "We both know what this is all about."

"Oh really?" I said with a half laugh, not really caring what she was thinking. I was certain she had no idea why I wanted to go to nursing school. I was sure she had concocted some hair-brained reason in her head, but there was no way it came anywhere close to the truth. Maybe it was because of some small lingering hope that my mother just might know something real about me, or maybe it was my need to prove myself right that she didn't. I wasn't sure, but before I could stop the words from spilling out, I found myself asking, "Since you are so sure, why don't you tell me, Mom."

"You really need me to say it? It's so obvious, Isabella," she huffed and waved her hand around and rolled her eyes like she was totally dismissing me.

"Well the way I see it is, I know why I am doing this. But I somehow doubt what you think is the same as my reasoning. So please, go ahead and tell me why you think I am going to nursing school."

"Why don't I just put it to you like this…What is it you want…You are obviously doing this as some sort of stunt to get your father and me to buy you something, so what is it? A new car? A trip? What?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words just wouldn't come out. I stood there stunned. I knew my mother had little if any understanding of the path I wanted to take with my life. But for her to think that I was pulling this as some sort of stunt, I was just completely at a loss of words and baffled.

"It's okay, dear," she cooed in a condescending tone as she moved over next to me and clasped her hands on my shoulders. "Remember I was young once too. I ran off to college to get my parents' attention too. To show them that I didn't need them and that I could make it on my own. Your grandfather still scolds me to this day about it. And as much as I love your father, in the end I was back here in Baltimore with a husband and a baby, begging for their forgiveness and help.

"You don't have to make the same mistakes as I did, Isabella. You don't have to do this to show us your independence if that is what this is all about. I could talk to your father. Perhaps we could get you a small apartment in town and if you really want to work you could do something to help with his mayoral campaign. Let's just skip all the drama. Tell me what it is you want and we will fix it."

I swooped under her arm, knocking her hands off my shoulders in the process, and quickly made my way around to the door of my car. Digging my keys out of my pocket, I looked up at her and said, "If that is what you think this is about, Mother, that I am doing this to somehow bribe you and dad to buy me some expensive gift or set me up in some stuffy apartment in the city. Then…well then you really have no idea who I am or what I want from my life at all. I want to help people. I want to make a difference in their lives. And until you can understand that, I really don't much care to hear from you."

"Oh stop the dramatics, Isabella. Tell me what group it is that you want to help and we can go write a check to their organization now."

"No. That's how _you_ help people. That's not how _I_ do it. I prefer a more hands-on method. I want to actually experience the process of helping them. Now I need to get going. I have to get checked in with my roommate and start getting settled in before classes start on Monday."

I glanced in the rearview mirror as I drove off, I saw my mother standing there with her mouth gaping like a fish. I knew that I had probably hurt her feelings. But she had been hurting mine for years and being blunt with her was the only way I felt I could get through to her. Being nice had never worked once in all the years I'd been trying to get through to my parents. Maybe someday they'd see that the life I was choosing was what I truly wanted, but I wasn't counting on it.

***{SIB}* **

The John Hopkins campus was huge and by the time I had located my residence hall, I had begun to feel like I'd been driving in circles. Climbing out of my car, I grabbed my registration papers and dorm assignment letter along with my purse off the passenger seat. Stepping up onto the sidewalk, I stared up at the tall brick building that stood before me. This four-story building was likely to be my home for the next few years while I got my nursing degree.

I scanned the area around me, taking it all in…Everything from the perfectly manicured lawn in front of me to the rows of white framed windows contrasting against the bold red brick walls of the residence hall. The last thing that caught my eye was the large sign that read _John Hopkins University_ and under it _Meyer Hall_. Seeing the sign reminded me of where I was. Actually it wasn't so much of where I was, but of someone else that I knew went to school here.

Edward.

I had no idea if he lived on campus, with his parents, or if he had some other arrangement. We'd had so little time to ourselves when we were on the island to talk about life back here and what time we did have to ourselves we spent getting to know more about each other personally. Sure we had talked about school and he'd told me that his parents had a condo here in Baltimore, but I'd never asked him about whether or not he lived in the dorms during the school year.

Tears started welling in my eyes. I couldn't help but think about all the things Edward and I had talked about doing with the time we'd have before school started. How he was going to show me around campus. Introduce me to some of his friends and him to mine. Eat at one of his favorite places and go to a Baltimore Orioles baseball game. So many things that I was certain would never happen now. So many things that I wished I could understand.

The biggest one of all being, why did he even bother pretending he wanted to have a relationship with me if he didn't? Why did he ask me to be his girlfriend in the first place? He could have just left when he did and said it was over then and sure it would have hurt. Falling for him had been as easy as breathing. But back on the island I hadn't expected anything from him once the summer was over until he gave me reason to believe there would be more. I didn't want to believe he had led me on intentionally, he didn't seem to be that type of guy, but with the way things had turned out I just didn't see any other explanation.

"Damn it, Bella," I cursed to myself as I wiped away the tear running down my cheek. I had promised myself I wasn't going to cry anymore, but it hurt so much and sometimes it was so overwhelming I just couldn't help it.

I brushed away a few more tears and sucked in a deep breath and forced my feet to begin moving up the walkway leading to the entrance to the building looming before me.

"Hi, welcome to Meyer Hall. Do you have your dorm assignment sheet and your student ID?" the way too cheery girl sitting behind the front desk asked.

"Hi…um yeah…here," I managed to get out while handing both to her.

"You look a little lost um…Isabella," she said while looking over my information. "I get it," she continued, "I remember my first day. The whole college thing is this great new exciting adventure you set out to go on, but it's also so completely bewildering and a little scary too. But I bet in no time at all you will adjust. It's a lot easier once classes start and you get in to a routine and you're meeting all sorts of new people."

"Yeah. I'm really looking forward to it." I really was too. I just needed to figure out how to push my broken heart aside.

"Okay. Here's your room key. You are in room 448. Your roommate checked in a couple of hours ago so have fun getting acquainted. Do you have your family here to help you get all moved in?" she asked.

"Oh, um no. I'm by myself," I replied while taking my key and other things back from her.

"Well then you are going to need some help," she chirped energetically. "Wait here," she ordered with a bright smile.

I watched as she hopped off the stool she was sitting on behind the desk and walked over to where there was a group of students that appeared to be a little older than me standing by a collection of commercial sized laundry carts on wheels. She spoke to them briefly and was quickly followed in my direction by two of the students who each brought one of the carts with them.

"Guys, this is Isabella, one of our freshman residents here in Meyer Hall. Isabella—"

"Bella, you can just call me Bella. It's what all my friends call me."

"Okay then, Bella, this is Kelsey Mathews and her brother Luke. If you'd like, they'd be more than happy to assist you with unloading your stuff and getting it up to your dorm room."

"Oh. Uh, thanks. That would be really great."

"You're welcome," she said and then extended her hand for me to shake. "By the way, I forgot to mention, my name is Angela Weber and I'm the resident advisor for your floor. I'm across the hall in 406 if you need anything."

Thanks to the oversized laundry carts, we managed to get everything I had brought with me in one trip.

"So where are you from, Bella? Did you have to travel far?" Kelsey asked as we stepped into the elevator.

"Oh, no. I'm from right here in Baltimore," I replied.

"That must be nice for you," Luke said joining the conversation. "You have your family close if you need anything. Ours are close too. Not locally like yours, but Philadelphia is only two hours away so it isn't much of a drive if we want to go home for the weekend."

"Really? You guys are from Philly and you chose Hopkins over Penn State?"

"We did," Kelsey answered. "While Penn State was practically in our own backyard and both our parents had attended there, we wanted to get just a little distance between us and home. You know, away from the hovering parents."

"And besides, we're twins so we tend to stick together," Luke added.

"Yeah I can understand that."

And I really could. After all I lived close enough to the campus that if I wanted to I could have easy lived at home. But I had my own reasons for not wanting to live under the same roof as my parents and honestly hoped that I would never have to again. If it meant I'd have to get a job to make sure I could remain on my own, then I would do so. I was also prepared to take out loans or agree to work at the hospital here to help pay for my tuition if my parents decided to stop paying for it. I knew my mother thought I was only doing this as some sort of rebellious stunt, but I knew otherwise and would do what I had to, to make my dream of becoming a nurse come true.

The elevator dinged as the door slid open, indicating we had reached the fourth floor where my room was.

"What's your room number?" Luke asked as we stepped off the elevator.

"Um, 448 I think was what Angela had said." I began looking over the housing assignment papers I had received.

"Here let me see," Kelsey said holding out her hand for the paper.

I gave it to her instantly, figuring she had more experience at finding the info than I did.

"Yep, 448 is where your new home is." She handed the paper back to me and pointed to the left end of the hallway.

"You're all the way down at the end," Luke told me as we reached the end and turned the corner down another hall. "There's another elevator and the stairs at that end that will make it easier for you to get to your room in the future."

"So, can I ask you a question, Bella?" Kelsey asked as we made our way to my room.

"Sure."

"I noticed on your paper that your last name is Swan."

"Oh, yeah it is. Why?"

"Well I couldn't help but notice it's the same as that guy in all those political commercials on TV."

"Which one, Kelsey? Do you realize how many political commercials there are on TV?" Luke asked his sister.

"Yes, dear brother, I do," she retorted at her brother before looking over at me and saying, "Before Luke so rudely interrupted me, I was going to say the guy with the bushy mustache."

"Yep that would be my dad."

We came to a stop and I looked up to see we had reached the end of the hall and the plaque on the wall had my room number on it. I swiped the plastic room key and opened the door.

As we entered the space, Kelsey inquired, "So do you help with his campaign at all?"

"No," I stated instantly. "I try to stay as far away from it as possible."

"Oh," she said in a somewhat surprised tone. "Well…don't you support him at all?"

"No. And I know that must seem odd to you, but let's just say my parents and I don't see eye to eye on many things. So it's best if I just stay as far out of my father's business and political affairs as possible."

"Hey, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just curious."

I felt bad as soon as she apologized. I knew my voice had taken on a bit of a harsh tone to it, but I had hoped it hadn't been that noticeable. Apparently it had and I had offended Kelsey with it.

I blew out a gust of air. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound crass or anything. My parents are just a sore subject with me."

"No problem," she said.

I then took a second to look around my new living quarters. There was a small entry way which led into the kitchen area. Adjacent to the kitchen was the bathroom and then there was a small living room area with two doors that led to the two bedrooms that made up the suite style of the dorm room.

"Which room is yours?" Luke asked.

"Oh her paperwork said she was in Bed 'A'," Kelsey supplied.

I held the door to bedroom "A" open as they pushed the two carts through it. It didn't take us long to remove the boxes of my things from the carts.

I walked back to the entrance door with the two of them and thanked them for their help. Kelsey walked out first and Luke followed behind her. But just before I shut the door he turned around in the hall.

"Hey, Bella," he called to me.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe we could grab a bite to eat sometime or study together," he suggested with a very charming and sweet smile on his face.

It was a smile that would have normally caught my attention. However since I had become acquainted with a certain someone's lopsided smile that lit up his green eyes until they sparkled like emeralds, no other smile could ever compare.

"Oh…um…I…I don't know," I said stumbling over my own words as my hand closed around my necklace, fiddling with it like a small child holding onto its favorite blanket or stuffed animal.

He took a couple of steps back towards my room, sinking his hands into the front pockets of his shorts as he leaned against the doorway.

"Just think of me as your tour guide or personal welcome committee. I promise I don't bite," he teased as his smile got even wider.

He really was a cute guy. Tall, dark and handsome, Al would say. But I just couldn't bring myself to say yes.

Sliding the blue stone of my necklace back and forth on the thin piece of leather it was attached to, I looked up at him and tried to let him down as gently as I could without really letting him down.

"You know. I really appreciate the offer. But—"

"But you are saying no. Right?"

"Not really, no. More like not right now. It's really sweet of you to offer. But I have to unpack, get settled in, see how my schedule is going to go along with all that other stuff we freshman have to adjust to. Maybe in a few weeks or something once I am more settled in."

"Well, it's not a yes, but I get the sense that's the best I am gonna get right now."

"It is. I'm sorry," I told him.

"It's okay. I get it. I was a freshman once too," he said trying not to sound disappointed but I could see that he was. "Okay well, I am going to leave you to unpack. If you change your mind, I am down on the third floor in room 332."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"See you around, Bella," he called as he turned to jog down the hall after his sister who had kept walking.

"Yeah, see ya around," I called back before turning back to my dorm and closing the door behind me so I could begin getting situated as best as I could for now.

***{SIB}***

I had just finished unpacking what I knew I'd need right away, and chose to leave the rest for later, when there was a knock on my bedroom door. I opened my door to see a blond haired, bright blue eyed girl about two inches taller than me standing there.

"Hi," she held her hand out, smiling so wide it caused her big blue eyes to form half-moon shapes and the apples of her cheeks to rise. "I'm Skylar, your roommate."

"Hi, Bella, Bella Swan," I replied and shook her hand while returning her smile with one of my own.

"It's great to meet you Bella, Bella Swan." Her response had us both erupting into a fit of giggles.

"Do you have a last name, Skylar? Or are you one of those one named divas?" I asked teasing her.

"It's Nickelson," she said with a snicker, "and I'm nowhere close to ranking up there with the likes of Pink, Madonna, or Beyoncé."

I waved my hand, motioning for her to follow me into my room. We sat down on my bed and began getting better acquainted. She was very friendly, outgoing, and readily poured her life story out to me. I learned Sky, as she told me all her friends called her, was from Cleveland, Ohio.

She loved to read, ran at least two miles every morning, her favorite color was yellow, and she claimed to be addicted to the Food Network and some vampire show she watched on TV that was based on a series of books she had read.

"Your turn now," she insisted with a smile nearly as big as the one she'd had when she'd knocked on my door.

"Well, there isn't really a lot to tell," I started. "I love to read. My favorite color was purple, but recently I've become very fond of green. Especially a grassy shade of green."

I felt a tug in my heart at admitting this to her and I hoped it wasn't visible in my expression. It was hard enough to think about him. I didn't know if I could get through talking about him without falling to pieces again.

"Hey, are you okay?" Skylar asked.

I looked up to see her waving her hand in front of my face. "Oh…uh…yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

"Looked like you were a million miles away there," she told me looking sincerely concerned. "I know it's hard being away from home. I miss my parents too. It's okay to admit it."

"Oh, no. It's not my parents. Trust me on that one. I'm just tired I guess," I half lied.

"Tell me about it. My parents drove me down here and I never knew that riding in a car could be so exhausting. I mean I get it if you are the one driving, but all I did was sit in the back seat. I even fell asleep a couple of times."

"Really?" I asked. Never having been on a long car ride I was curious. My parents had always thought it was stupid to drive when they could easily afford to fly.

"It really is. After a while the scenery all started to look the same in between the big cites we passed through and that with the constant hum of the car just lulled me to sleep. I might as well have been a baby being rocked by its momma," she declared before asking, "How far did you have to travel?"

"I think it took me about twenty minutes to get here."

"Wow. So you're local. No wonder you don't miss your parents. You can see them whenever you want. That has to be great."

"No, not really. I stayed local to be close to my best friend and…and," I paused knowing what I wanted to say was that I wanted to be here now for Edward too. Only I had no clue how he felt anymore and again, I didn't want to get into telling her all about him. Running my hand through my hair I let out a long sigh and went on, "Well it's just she's like a sister to me. I couldn't imagine not being able to hang out with her."

"That's awesome you have such a close friend. Is she here at John Hopkins too?"

"Geez I wish," I told her. "But no. She's at Baltimore U studying to be an event planner. Wants to have her own company someday."

"Oh that sounds like fun. Is she going to do weddings, parties, or what?"

"Or what sounds more like Alice," I said with a snort. "She wants to do it all and I tell ya what, she has the drive and sheer determination to do it too."

"Sounds awesome."

"She is."

"Hey," Skylar said looking around my room. "You're not all unpacked yet. Want some help?"

"Oh thanks, that's really nice of you to offer, but I can do it."

"Nonsense. Come on," she insisted as she got up and waved her hand for me to join her. "Which box should we start with?" she asked spinning slowly in a circle as she took in the scattered boxes lying haphazardly across my bedroom floor.

We dug into my stuff and it wasn't long before things were quickly becoming more and more organized. Skylar reminded me of Alice with her bubbly personality; however, she wasn't quite as hyper as Alice. I couldn't imagine anyone being as energetic as my best friend. Al was the energizer bunny come to life.

When my phone rang, Skylar and I were still sprawled across my bed laughing as we held our stomachs. We were trying to catch our breath as we laid in the same spots where we had fallen from the fit of giggles that had overtaken us when Skylar explained to me how her parents had chosen her name, which was because her parents were certain she had been conceived in the back seat of her dad's old Buick Skylark.

I was still giggling a little when I answered the call. "Hey, Al."

"Well don't you sound like you're in a good mood. Is unpacking really that much fun for you? Why didn't you tell me that was all I had to do to get you to cheer you up?" she asked in a playful, sarcastic tone.

"I was just laughing at something my new roommate told me," I explained before shooting back at her a teasing jab of my own. "After all, you're the only person I know who gets excited about packing, unpacking and organizing her wardrobe. Tell me, are you all unpacked? Have you got all your clothes sorted by designer and color yet?"

"Of course," she chimed. "I was done a couple of hours ago."

"Yes of course you were. So what's up?"

"Well," she said dragging the word out, which told me she was about to ask me to do something she knew I really wouldn't be thrilled about. "I can only guess here, but I would bet my favorite Jimmy Choos that you brought that frumpy white comforter from your bedroom to your dorm with you and you have to know that as your best friend in the world, I just can't let you continue to use that thing. It belongs on my grandmother's bed. Not yours."

"Well you'll be happy to hear that, that frumpy white comforter is still on the bed in the frumpy white bedroom it belongs in."

"What? You didn't bring it?" she shrieked in shock.

"Nope. My mom said that she thought I should leave it for when I came home to stay. I think she just couldn't bear to have her perfect room disassembled in any way," I said with a snort.

"So you have no comforter or bedding then?" Al asked.

"I do. I dug out some of my old stuff out of the basement. Mrs. Cope helped me find them."

"No way are you going to use that old stuff, Bell."

"They're just blankets and sheets. I don't see what the big deal is. It not like anyone other than me is going to see them."

"Of course you don't see what the big deal is. I love that you are so down to earth, Bell. Really I do. But this is a fresh start for you and you need to make it complete with a fresh room. And who says you won't be the only one seeing them? Your new roomie is there now, she sees them, I will see them and I know you haven't given up on Edward yet no matter how hard it is for you to believe he might be just as lost as you are right now. Plus, you know I won't take no for an answer. We _will_ fix this today."

"Today, Al?"

"Yes today. No time like the present. I know how you are. If I let you put it off, a day will turn to two, then three and then a week, and before I know it, you will be content using that thing and it will be like pulling teeth from a T-Rex to get you to go shopping. So finish up, you got about an hour until I come steal you away."

"You're really not giving me a choice here, are you?" I sighed resigning myself to the fact I was now going shopping this afternoon.

"You're in Meyer Hall, right?" she asked.

"Yep, room 448."

"Okay, see you in a bit," she replied. "Oh," I heard her call into the phone at the last minute. "Cheer up. Shopping isn't the end of the world. See if your roomie wants to go too."

After ending the call and stuffing my phone back into the back pocket of my shorts, I filled Sky in on my conversation with Alice and when her excitement was at a level close to Al's was, I was certain this was going to be a shopping adventure like none I'd ever been on before. Especially when she opened one of the last two boxes and pulled out the bedding in question, which was almost as dull as the plain white.

"Soooo was the rest of your room filled with bright colors?" she asked eyeing it.

"Nope." I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture I had stored of my room.

I watched curiously as she turned the phone around in every direction she could, like she was expecting the image to change like the colors inside a kaleidoscope did when you turned it. She glanced at the bedding I had tossed carelessly onto my bed and then back at the picture on my phone again.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Well," she paused turning the phone again. "You see this blanket right here?" She turned around so I could see the picture too and pointed to the spread lying across the foot of my bed.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well I'm not sure, but I think maybe it and a few of your pillows are maybe a soft, really pale shade of blue," she stated unsure.

"They are," I assured her.

"You chose to decorate your room this way?" she asked pointing at the picture on my phone. "And it used to be that," she then pointed at the stuff I'd brought with me before adding, "I'm not sure which is worse." She sounded almost as horrified as Al had when she'd first seen what my mother had done to my room.

"No. I _did_ ask to redo my room a couple of years ago. However, my mother thought she'd surprise me for my sixteenth birthday and do it on her own. Those blue items, if that's what you really want to classify them as, are her idea of a pop of color."

"Thank goodness," Skylar declared as she faked wiping her forehead in a sign of relief. "I was worried there for a second that you were going to be a stuffy, boring roommate."

We both laughed at what she said. After tossing the comforter onto my bed, Skylar noticed we only had one box left to open. "Last one," she called as she walked towards it.

"Oh, you know what. I can get this one by myself," I told her as I rushed over to stop her from opening it.

"What? It's the last one." She popped the lid open and started to pull the contents out before I could stop her. "Bella, did you get your big brother's clothes mixed up with yours? Maybe it's your dad's?" she asked as she spun holding out the item she was referring to, only to find me standing there frozen, staring at the black and white flannel shirt—Edward's shirt—in her hand.

"G…give me that pl…please," I told her failing to fight the tremble in my voice as I held out my hand for it.

"Bella," she said softly as she took a step closer to me. "You're shaking, Bella. Are you alright?"

Unable to say anything right then, I nodded and snatched the shirt from her. Startling her with my sudden and erratic actions, she jumped back a couple of steps as I clutched the shirt to my chest.

It took me a few moments, but when she started to speak again I could see by the concerned and somewhat freaked out expression on her face how my reaction to the shirt was freaking her out.

"I'm just gonna go," she whispered and turned to walk away.

I buried my face in the shirt and took a deep breath. I didn't understand how the faint scent of Edward that remained on the shirt still comforted me, but it did. Inhaling again, I looked up and saw Skylar about to leave my room. I knew I had to stop her and explain or I'd ruin what could be an amazing new friendship before it even began. And not just for me, I had a feeling that Skylar and Al would get along perfectly.

"Sk—Skylar," I called. She stopped and looked back at me over her shoulder. I could see the sad look in her eyes and knew I had hurt her feelings and could tell she was confused because she had no idea why. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "This," I held the shirt up slightly, "is…it belongs to someone special. I'm...trying to move on…but…"

"Oh, Bella," she said. "I'm sorry. You said to leave it alone. I never imagined—"

I held up my hand and shook my head at her to cut her off. "No. It's not your fault. You didn't know. It just…it just still hurts so much."

Part of me was still trying to convince myself that this thing with Edward and his phone number could all be some big misunderstanding. Al had many times insisted that he could have hit a wrong number, lost his phone or it could be broken. But even though I desperately wanted to believe she was right, I was almost afraid to hope. I was afraid that I had been just some sort of summer fling to him and that he never meant for it to last beyond our time on the island.

Skylar rushed over to me and hugged me tightly, which again reminded me of Al. And being reminded of my best friend, I knew I had to pull myself together before she got here. I didn't want her to see me falling apart again. She had been such a trooper these past couple of weeks, listening to me cry, no matter what time of the day or night it had been, and finally over the last couple of days I had convinced her I was doing better. I was doing better, that is until today. Knowing he was possibly here somewhere on this campus, so close yet so far away, was harder to deal with than I had ever imagined it would be.

"I'm so sorry," Skylar said softy and gave me one last squeeze before she pulled away.

"I'll be okay," I told her even though I wasn't sure which one of us I was trying harder to convince. Taking a deep breath I then said, "I just need a few minutes alone. I'll be fine. Okay?"

"Okay," she said at the same time she nodded. I wasn't sure if she believed me or not, but after another quick hug, she left as I had asked her to do.

***{SIB}***

_Once upon a time I was falling in love  
But now I'm only falling apart— _

The lyrics to the song ended abruptly as I felt my earbuds being pulled from my ears while the sound of Al's voice vibrated through my head. "Isabella Marie!" She was frustrated and I could tell by the way her voice screeched.

"I just wanna be left alone, Al. Please," I told her with a sniffle and pulled my pillow over my head.

"Nope. Not gonna happen," she said as she ripped the pillow away.

I felt Al sit down on the bed next to me and heard Skylar talking to her. "She's been like this for almost an hour. I'm so sorry. I wish I'd never opened that box."

"It's not your fault," Al assured her. "You had no way of knowing."

"What happened? She looks pretty heartbroken," Skylar said as I felt her sit down on the other side of the bed.

"Long story short—"

"Just spill my love life to the world, Mary Alice!"

"Well look at this playlist you have going here_. I Won't Give Up_ by Jason Maraz, _Total Eclipse of the Heart_ by Bonnie Tyler, _Broken Hearted Girl_ by Beyoncé, _We Are Broken_ by Paramore. Really, Bella, this is just torture. You want this girl to think you are some sort of depressed, manic, emo person?" Al asked.

I sighed and shook my head.

"I didn't think so. Now come on," she demanded as she tugged on my arm. "We are going shopping. You are going to splash some cold water on your face and brush that rat's nest your hair has become while I reassure your roomie that you are safe to live with."

"Yes, mother," I quipped at her as I pulled myself up from the bed.

"Now, as I was saying…" I heard Al say to Skylar as I made my way to the bathroom.

***{SIB}***

**August 22, 2011**

Yawning, I stretched and snuggled under the softness that was my new bedding set. As much as I had dreaded being dragged to the mall with Al and Skylar last Friday, the three of us had, had a really good time. And I also had to admit that my new bedding was much better than what I'd had before.

I really loved the varying shades of turquoise that were enhanced in the tie-died design I had picked. Al had wanted me to get something much more girly and frilly, but when I told her the colors reminded me of the ocean, she knew there was no fighting me because she also knew the ocean reminded me of my time with Edward.

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and looked at the clock. Monday had come rather quickly and I only had an hour and a half to get ready and make my way to the entrance of the med school building.

After the three of us had returned from shopping Friday night, Al and Skylar had spent the rest of the weekend, putting my and Skylar's rooms together according to the decorating laws of Al, while the two of them hatched a plan to possibly put me smack dab in Edward's path on his way to class this morning. Skylar had agreed with Al that there was a very real chance that the issue with Edward's phone number was an unfortunate mishap after she'd heard the whole story from my best friend. She was just as convinced as Al that it was a misunderstanding—that was after they'd spent nearly two hours stalking Facebook and Twitter in search of him.

Once they had become certain they couldn't find him on either social media site, they'd searched through the John Hopkins physician directories for Carlisle. I wanted to kick myself for not thinking of that idea myself sooner, but as both girls had pointed out, I was heartbroken and not exactly thinking clearly.

When we had indeed located Carlisle, I was happy to know that I could at least reach him and get a message to Edward through him, but I told both Sky and Al that I really wanted to talk to Edward himself if at all possible. If things were over between us, I wanted him to have to tell me himself, and I wanted to be able to ask him why he had lied to me instead of just letting me go when he had the opportunity to do so before he had left the DR.

While they both thought it was a little masochistic of me, they also understood that if things were over, why I would need more than just hearing from his father that he didn't want to see me anymore.

So instead of going through Edward's father, Sky and Al had come up with the idea of placing me near the entrance of the medical school building for as long as possible. We didn't have any idea what time Edward's classes were, but we did know the approximate time the school itself opened for classes so the plan was for Skylar and me to plant ourselves near the entrance and hope that Edward came and saw me before I had to leave for my own classes.

I picked up my schedule from my nightstand to make sure what time my first class was and that today was a class day and not a lab day. On lab days all of the nursing students were required to wear scrubs and I didn't need to start off my first day with that kind of a mistake.

Seeing it was a class day, I stood to go get dressed. When I did, the two little pillows I had slept with clutched in my arms fell to the floor. Al had insisted I get the small decorative pillow with a 'b' on it for Bella. However, when she wasn't looking I tossed one with an 'e' on it into the cart as well. Maybe it was silly, but when I'd seen it, I knew I had to have it too. It not only made me think of 'e' for Edward but the 'b' and 'e' together could mean Bright Eyes which was what Edward had nicknamed me on the island.

"Please let this work," I whispered to myself as I walked over to my closet and began my hunt for something to wear. When I came across my uniform skirt from last year, I laughed a little at the fact that I had somehow brought it with me and at how easy getting ready for school had been in the past.

I was just about to give up and call Al for advice when I saw the shirt I had been wearing that fateful day on the plane when I'd met Edward. Hoping that maybe it would be a bit of good luck, I decided to go with the exact same outfit I'd been wearing that day, the shirt, shoes, and shorts. The only change was the addition of the necklace Edward had given me.

Dressed, I added a little mascara, some lip gloss and pulled my hair up into a ponytail just as it had been on that day as well.

"You ready to go?" Skylar asked from the other side of my door.

"Yeah, just give me one more minute. You can come in," I told her as I finished stuffing the rest of my stuff in my backpack.

Fifteen minutes later, Skylar and I were standing near the entrance to the building. My roommate tried to distract me and keep me occupied by talking about our classes and telling me more about herself, however all I could do was chew nervously on my lip and pick at the strap of my backpack.

After a little more than an hour had gone by, I was starting to pace back and forth and was rambling like an idiot to Skylar about how we should just head over to the nursing school.

I had just pivoted on the ball of my foot and was about to walk away from her as I continued to pace when I ran smack into someone. "I'm so—"

"Bella?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again to make sure I wasn't dreaming before I dared to look up and make sure the face I longed to see was the one speaking to me.

Slowly I lifted my gaze and saw the face of the man I'd been dying to see for the last several weeks.

"Edward," I whispered in a shaky voice knowing this was it. He was either going to shoot me to cloud nine or shatter my heart into a million unrecognizable pieces.

* * *

**So...who wants to guess what will happen next. Will Bright Eyes be on cloud nine, or will Stretch be shattering her heart?**

**Don't forget to head on over to my blog and check out the pics for this chapter. Thank you to My-Bella for her help in putting the little pillows Bella sleeps with on the bedding for me. Link is on my profile page.  
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**Also, today is the last day to make a donation to the Fandom4LLS and receive the compilation of all the amazing stories donated by some incredible authors. My-Bella and myself have both donated E&B oneshots and hope you will consider helping out this very worth cause. All it takes is $5.00 to get them all. The link is on my profile page and my blog.  
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**Sorry again for the delay, I promise to get chapter 11 to you just as fast as I can.  
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**Thanks for reading,  
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**EA  
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	11. Unwell

**HI everyone, I know you are anxious to get on with the chapter so I will leave you to do so. As always, thank you so very, very much to My-Bella and Hope4More!**

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. __**Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. _**No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization.**_

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**August 22, 2011**

***{Edward}***

I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing as I walked up the sidewalk that led to the front entrance of the medical school building. I had spent the last few days thinking that Bella had withdrawn from nursing school when my father couldn't find any information in the school's system on her at all. No records of Isabella or Bella Hale existed or had ever existed in the registration files. Which didn't make sense at all to my father, or his friend in the student's records office he had asked to look Bella up as a favor to him. Even if Bella had withdrawn from school, according to my dad's friend, it would have shown that in the system.

However when I saw the familiar walk, the long slender legs, the familiar sway of her hips and even the swishing of a long brown ponytail, which had been what had caught my eye in the first place. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. Showing me what I so desperately wanted to see. I had been missing her more than I had ever imagined I would. Once I'd gotten a few feet closer, all my doubts vanished and I knew it was her. I was stunned to see my Bright Eyes pacing back and forth near the door of the building. It made my hopes soar.

I sped up the pace of my steps, needing to get to her as fast as I possibly could. I was practically running by the time I reached her and in my eagerness I had nearly run her over. When she turned to continue her pacing, my sudden arrival caused her to run right into me.

A soft umpf sound escaped from her as her small frame smacked into my taller, much heavier one. "I'm so—" she began to apologize before I cut her off.

"Bella?" Her name came out like a question. I was still so shocked to see her here.

She squeezed her eyes shut like she wasn't sure it was really me standing there before she opened them and slowly looked up at me.

"Edward," she whispered. Her voice was soft and shaky as if she was almost terrified to see me.

"I can't…I can't believe you're really here. I've tried everything I could think of to find you. I even had my dad call in a favor and search through the school's records. It was like you didn't exist. But here you are," I said as I reached out and caressed her cheek. Her face turned into my hand and pressed against it. It was like she craved my touch.

_I knew exactly how that felt. It was more like a need, something I had to have. I've longed to have her in my arms again so badly. To feel her lips against mine, and smell the scent of her coconut shampoo and body wash._

A soft smile briefly appeared on her lips and then disappeared to be replaced with a confused almost sad expression. "I tried to call you. So many times I tried," she said as she pulled my hand from her face and backed away from me, while keeping us connected by my hand in hers.

I quickly intertwined our fingers to keep her from pulling away from me any further. That was the last thing I wanted to happen.

"What happened? I don't understand, it said your number had been disconnected. I've had all sorts of crazy ideas running through my head including the thought you didn't want to see me. That you gave me the wrong number on purpose to get rid of me." Her eyes held steady, searching mine for understanding as she waited for my answer.

"Come here," I said softly as I tugged on her hand gently. "Please," I added when she hesitated.

With her bottom lip nervously clinched between her teeth, she took the couple of steps needed to close the gap between us. When she stopped I released her hand and slid both of my hands up her arms until I was cradling her face between them. As the pads of my thumbs slowly skimmed across the silky smooth skin of her cheeks, her eyes closed and her bottom lip began to tremble.

"Bright Eyes," I murmured and leaned in, softly brushing my lips across hers, before resting my forehead against hers. "Please believe me when I say that for one, I would never ever pull such a stunt. If I didn't want to be with you any more, I would tell you. Two, I can promise you that is not the case; I still want you and all of those things we talked about. And three, the incident with my phone was a horrible accident. I promise I gave you the right number. And that I've missed you so fucking much."

Her eyes rapidly popped open. They were shining with unshed tears as they searched mine for the truth. "Then why did I get that message?" she asked.

"Because the airline lost my backpack and my phone was in it," I told her.

"You didn't carry it on with you?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion with her question.

"No. I couldn't," I answered with a sigh. "Remember how I told you my uncle had arranged a flight for us?" I waited for a response from her and when she nodded, I continued. "Well it was a rather upscale chartered jet with all the bells and whistles you could possibly want for a comfy cozy flight, including its own bedroom. However due to the layout of these particular types of planes, there are no overhead compartments for you to store carryon bags. So everything had to be checked and sent through security in order to be placed in the luggage hold of the plane," I explained. "And knowing I wouldn't be able to use my phone until I landed and that I wouldn't be able to call you at all, I didn't think anything of it."

I watched her face for her reaction and could practically see the light bulb go off in her head; the light in her eyes brightened the second understanding started to sink in.

"So your phone was lost? Gone?"

"Yes."

"You had to get a new one?" she asked for clarification.

"Yes."

"Okay, but what about your number? Anytime I've ever replaced a phone of mine they simply transfer the number."

"I know and that's been the same for me too any time I've ever gotten a new phone. And that is exactly what I was expecting when I went to purchase a new one, once the airline assured me they had no idea where my backpack had ended up at."

"So you are saying then, that's not what happened?" I could see she still had some doubts and I didn't blame her. I could only imagine the thoughts that would be running through my head had the tables been turned.

"No," I blew out a long breath as I began to tell her what I had been told. "Bella, I can't even begin to tell you how upset I was when the phone carrier's sales rep explained to me that because of the way my phone had been lost, there was a high possibility of it ending up in the wrong hands which could cost me a ton. The sales rep told me the only way I could be exempt from being held accountable for any unauthorized charges was for me to get a new number so they were certain that I would not be the one making any calls from that date on, on that number." I slid my arms around her and pulled her to me, not giving her any time to protest or pull away. "Trust me, if there had been any way I could have kept the old number I would have. But they insisted that I didn't. I am so incredibly sorry. I never meant for you to be hurt."

"Oh, God," she mumbled against my chest as her arms slid around my waist and her hands clawed at the back of my shirt, like she couldn't get a tight enough hold on me. "I was so afraid I'd never see you again. That you didn't want anything to do with me."

I backed away just enough so I could place my finger under her chin, raising her face and looking her in the eye. I didn't want there to be any misunderstandings anymore. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as I brushed the hair out of her face that had fallen free from her ponytail. "Bright Eyes, I have been going out of my mind, missing you so damn much these past weeks. I…I l—"

I nearly froze with fear and uncertainty at what I'd almost said to Bella. Those three incredibly important words had been on the tip of my tongue, ready to spill out. The fact that I'd almost said them and that it had felt like it would be easy to say them to her, and know that I meant them, scared the piss out of me. I'd never felt this way about anyone before and this wasn't exactly the time or place to make that monumental of a declaration. When the time came to say those words to her, I wanted to have her all to myself. I wanted to be able to show her how much I really meant them and I wanted there to be no doubts left in her mind about how I felt for her. I wanted her to know it and feel it in her heart even though I hadn't said it yet. I wanted her to love me too.

She was looking up at me curiously, no doubt wondering what I had been about to say. "Where'd you go? You seem lost in your own head," she said, running her fingers along the scruff covering my jawline.

_God her touch felt amazing._ It sent a thrilling buzz of energy coursing through me.

"I was I guess. It's just…I was trying to figure out how to tell you how much I missed you. I don't even know how to put into words. It's so overwhelming."

"I missed you too. So very much. I understand exactly what you mean," she said with a sniffle. "I hope you didn't think I was stalking you or anything. I…I just thought it was a shot in the dark that maybe I'd see you and there would be some crazy explanation as to why your phone number was disconnected. It was my last hope, to see if you really cared for me like you'd said you did."

"I did. I do. And it's not stalking if the person you are waiting for wants to see you too," I told her.

It occurred to me that even if I couldn't put into words how much I missed her, I could certainly show her. I dropped my right hand down to her waist and slipped my arm around her, pressing her against me. I then slid my left hand back behind her head to hold her steady as I crashed my lips to hers, kissing her soundly so there'd be no doubt left in her mind about how much I had missed her.

Her hands slid up my back until they were anchored on my shoulders, holding me as tightly as I was her. We clung to each other as if we were holding on for dear life. Maybe we were. At first our kiss was fast, hard and needy, like we were ready to devour one another. Judging by the way her lips moved perfectly against mine, she had missed me just as much as I had her. I slipped my tongue past her softer than I'd remembered lips, and we continued to kiss eagerly until we had to break apart for air. And then it was only a brief separation as I rested my head against hers for a few seconds while we both sucked in ragged breaths of air before our lips connected again. However this time it was much slower than before. This time we took our time, savoring every moment of it as we moved in harmony until we were rudely interrupted by the unwelcomed voice of one of my fellow med students.

"Well looky what we have here. Hope I'm interrupting your fun," Kelsey Mathews chirped with a cold edge to her voice. "So, Bella, I see you've already met Hopkins' most eligible bachelor."

"That's exactly what you're doing, Kelsey. Now go away, and make sure to note that I am _not_ eligible any more. I am completely _off_ the market," I informed her before placing another soft kiss on Bella's lips.

_They were so much sweeter and softer than I had remembered and I couldn't get enough of them. _

"Really? You and Bella? Wow. The little freshman reels in the big fish in the pond."

"I didn't reel in anyone. We met, we clicked and we like each other. What's so bad about that?" Bella asked, her voice taking on a hint of derision towards Kelsey.

"Don't be like that, Kelsey," I suggested sternly as she gave Bella "a how dare you" kind of look.

Kelsey had tried to get me to go out with her several times last year but I just didn't see her that way. I had known her twin brother for a while and even though he'd informed me many times of Kelsey's crush, I'd always viewed her as nothing more than a friend—a strictly platonic friend. She just didn't appeal to me on that level. Sure she was pretty, but I didn't feel any kind of a connection with her. She reminded me too much of the spoiled little rich girls I couldn't stand.

My connection had been there instantly with Bella. And with the feelings I felt for my Bright Eyes, there just wasn't any chance of anyone else stealing my heart as long as it belonged to her.

"Oh, Edward," Kelsey cooed as she brushed her hand down my arm, causing Bella to cock an eyebrow at her. Kelsey quickly jerked her hand back as if she'd been burned by Bella's glare before she went on. "Calm down. I am not trying to be like anything. If you guys are happy then that's all that matters right? Besides—" She stopped and shook her head as if to dismiss her own thoughts.

Glancing at my watch, I saw I only had about another ten to fifteen minutes before I'd have to head up to class. I loved the way Bella was relaxed, leaning against me with her head on my chest. I couldn't keep my hand from roaming up and down her back, relishing in the fact that I could touch her and hold her in my arms again. I just couldn't keep my hands off of her and I wanted the time I had left this morning to be spent with her. I needed to exchange numbers with her and find out what time she got out of class so that I could meet up with her as soon as possible.

Having a feeling the only way I was going to get rid of Kelsey was to get her to spit out what it was she was going to say, I asked her, "Besides what, Kelsey?"

"It's nothing really," she claimed in a fake nonchalant manner while acting as if she was checking out her manicure.

"You have something to say, so spill it. I have to get to class soon and you are wasting my time," I nearly growled at her.

"Well…it's just I thought…Well you know since your uncle is running for mayor and his opponent is Bella's father. Well I just figured that must really make for some really interesting dinner conversations. But the two of you have obviously gotten past any weirdness it causes."

I was flabbergasted and couldn't believe what the hell had just come out of Kelsey's mouth and Bella must have too since her entire body went ridged against mine when she'd heard what Kelsey had said.

"What the fuck, Kelsey? You have no idea what the hell you are saying. I have no idea where you got that crazy shit, but I assure you Bella is not related to that hypocrite Charles Swan. Her last name is Hale."

I just didn't understand how Kelsey could just show up here, interrupt my and Bella's private moment with her lies. Sure maybe we were out in the public for everyone to see, but you can't tell me she couldn't see she was barging in on something she shouldn't. It really made me wonder if that was what she had intended.

_Was that what she'd intended? _

_Was she on some sort of a jealous trip and made up this shit? _

All these thoughts started pouring into my head circling like a race car going round a track at two hundred miles an hour.

I never led her on—was fucking crystal clear—nothing between us—never felt anything for her.

Hell her own brother had told her to let it go. And now to ruin my reunion with Bella? This was so not how I imagined seeing Bella again would go. Which now had me pissed. I needed her to leave before I really said something I shouldn't. Because if she said one more word, just one, I'd go off on her and I wouldn't regret it one bit.

I looked down at Bella and noticed her eyes were clinched tightly shut, her face had gone pale as a ghost and she looked like she was about to be physically sick.

"Bella, sweetheart, what's wrong?" I asked and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

She shook her head back and forth slowly and tears started running down her face again. She reluctantly looked up at me and when she opened her eyes, they were swimming with fear.

"I…I didn't want you to find out this way. I should have told you before you left to come home. I'm…I…I'm so s…sorry," she cried.

The tears were pouring down her face now and I didn't understand why or what she was talking about. What should she have told me and why was she crying again? I loosened my hold on her so I could stand back and talk to her and see what she meant and when I tried to let go of her, her legs were rubbery as if they couldn't hold her up. However she steadied herself and once I was sure she wasn't going to fall I released the grip I had on her waist.

"Oh. My. God," came the intrusion of Kelsey's voice. "I'm soooo sorry. I thought you knew," she said.

"Kelsey, get the fuck out of here now. I don't know what's going on, but frankly I don't even want to look at you right now. You've upset Bella and I have to find out why. She is my only concern right now. So please leave."

She nodded and left quickly.

"Bella. Sweetheart, look at me. What's wrong? Why are you crying and what didn't you want me to find out? I don't understand," I said softly. I gently squeezed her arms as I squatted down some to get at eye level with her when she wouldn't look up at me.

She closed her eyes and sighed as her body quivered as if she had the chills. "It's true," she whispered hoarsely, in a choked-up voice.

"What's tr—"

And that's when it hit me. What she was telling me began to make sense as I went back over everything that Kelsey had said and Bella's reactions and words since then.

My hands fell from where they'd been resting on her arms as I took a step back. I pulled at my hair in frustration and turned away from her, moving a few steps away before turning back around to face her.

"How could you keep this from me? Did you know who I was the whole time? Who my family is?"

My mind was reeling again and in my anger over the situation I was practically growling at Bella. I could hardly believe what she was telling me. That she was confirming what I'd, just a moment ago, believed was a horrible lie. I was shocked beyond belief.

Was this real? Was I in some dream world—sucked into an alternate universe?

How could she do this?

Was she ever going to tell me?

Would I have ever found out if not for Kelsey's fucking rude interruption?

And then there's the fact that Kelsey knew and I didn't. How the hell had that happened? Did Bella know her? Replaying Kelsey's words in my head,_ "So, Bella, I see you've already met Hopkins' most eligible bachelor."_ She had known who Bella was before she arrived.

_How?_

To think about Bella keeping this from me was mind blowing—crushing.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of her voice.

"No! I didn't. I swear," she sobbed, stepping towards me and reaching out for me. She winced when I stepped back at the same time, not letting her get to me. I knew she must have seen how upset I was because in that moment she pulled her hand back and wrapped her arms around herself as if she was holding herself together. "I just wanted to do something good and worthwhile with my summer. Help those who needed it. I had no idea that I'd meet you," she added in between a few hiccups.

"Then why didn't you tell me? Did Peter or anyone at the Red Cross know?" I asked.

"No, no one," she whispered.

The look of shear pain, sorrow, and humiliation on her face along with the pleading look in her eyes, made me want to believe she was telling me the truth. She appeared completely devastated. The Bella I knew, or thought I had gotten to know on the island, wouldn't lie to me.

But I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that she had kept something so big from me. I had shared with her things about my family that I hadn't with many people before her and yet she couldn't trust me enough to tell me her real last name. I was deeply hurt and pissed off about it.

"You still haven't told me why? Why you didn't tell me. I told you things about my family that I don't just share with anyone, Bella. Was this some publicity stunt to help your father's campaign?"

"I couldn't tell you. I wanted to. So badly. And I nearly did on more than one occasion. But I didn't want my time there to be associated with my father's campaign. When you ask if it had to do with him, it did. But not how you think."

I huffed and shook my head back and forth before running my hand through my hair again. I didn't know what in the hell to do or say. I glanced all around me, not knowing what to say to her next. This morning had rapidly gone from one of sheer bliss to one of utter disbelief and heartache.

I noticed a couple of guys I had my first class with go by and enter the building, which told me it was close to time for class to start. Glancing at my watch, my thought was confirmed.

"I have to go," I told her, taking a couple of steps and moving around her to grab my backpack I had dropped to the ground in my excitement to see her.

"Edward. _Please_." She grabbed on to my t-shirt. "Please let me explain more. Please don't end things like this. I just want a chance to explain, to tell you everything. And I promise to answer any questions you have honestly. I will tell you anything you want to know," she begged, still tugging on my shirt.

"I don't know."

She slowly nodded and shifted her gaze to the ground as her fingers fell away from my shirt.

I started walking away.

"Edward," she called after me.

I kept walking.

"Edward," I heard again, fighting within myself to keep from going back to her.

"Stretch," she cried out louder this time, causing an ache in my heart. I couldn't help stopping and turning back to look at her.

"Please. Just hear me out."

Again I told her I didn't know and then said, "Maybe. I need some time to think and right now I have to get to class."

"Um…o…okay. H…how will I know? How can I reach you?" she asked, her voice shaking like she was freezing.

"Well I imagine it will be easier to find you now that I know who you really are," I said, sounding a lot more harshly than I had intended as I spun abruptly and walked away again.

I was halfway to my class when I paused to glance out a window at the end of the stairwell which faced the front of the building. I pressed my palm over the spot on my chest where my heart was and dragged it slowly back and forth, trying to soothe the sharp stabbing pain I was feeling. It had me fighting with everything I had to keep from running back out to her. Bella was still standing there, her shoulders visibly shaking as she cried on the shoulder of the blond girl I'd seen her with right before she had walked into me.

But I couldn't go to her.

Not now.

Maybe not ever.

Even as much as I still cared about her, honesty was too important to me. Lies and betrayal had been the root cause of all the problems that had torn my father's family apart and finding out that Bella had lied to me cut me deeply. I just didn't know how to deal with it yet. Like I'd told her, I needed time.

**August 27, 2011**

Six days.

Six days since I'd seen Bella.

Six days since I'd found out she'd lied to me.

Six days since I'd walked away from her.

Six days since my heart had felt like it had been ripped from my chest.

I had thought the last six weeks had been pure hell, missing her like I had, but those six weeks had nothing on the last fucking six days.

I was beginning to think there must be something wrong with me. I couldn't concentrate at school, which left me with a shit-ton of homework to get finished this weekend. And instead of working my ass off like I should be, I found myself staring at the ceiling and watching shadows on the wall. I should have listened to myself that first day on the plane and stuck to the "not getting involved" thing.

_Yeah like you really mean that. You couldn't have stayed away from her even if you had tried. She was like your own brand of heroin and you were the biggest junkie in the world. _

Everything was off. I was a complete mess. I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Bella's tear stained face, begging me to listen to her. I couldn't eat unless I forced myself when the gnawing emptiness in the pit of my stomach became too much to bear. How was I supposed to get past this? Get past her lie. It had killed me to see her in so much pain the other day, but was I supposed to just let everything I believed in fly out the window and not give a shit that she had lied to me? It was so damn confusing. I had never felt so torn on all of my life.

"Well you've really done it now, Cullen.

"You found a girl, fell for her, got your heart broken, and now you can't concentrate long enough to write a fucking sentence. You might as well go ahead and add college flunkie to your list of fuckups this week.

"Oh sure, you kept telling yourself that you'd be able to breeze through your work this weekend at home in a place where there was no Bella. No memories of her. Someplace she'd never been. Yeah right, you just keep telling yourself that, buddy.

"Maybe it will work if you d—"

"Edward?" my mother called from the other side of my bedroom door. "Are you on the phone?"

"No, Mom. Why?" I asked.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

She walked in carrying a basket of laundry. I watched as she scanned my room, taking in every little nook and cranny like she was expecting someone to jump out and surprise her.

"Something wrong?" She was acting like she was looking for something and it was really weird.

With a somewhat curious or maybe it was more of a perplexed expression on her face, she replied, "No. It's just…well I could have sworn I heard you talking to someone. Are you sure you weren't on the phone?"

"I'm positive. Maybe you just heard me thinking out loud about my homework," I suggested. _Way to go dipshit, now you're talking to yourself. Holding your very own conversation all by yourself. Padded room and straight jacket anyone?_

"Oh, well that would certainly explain it." She sat the basket of clothes down by the door and made her way over to me. "Heavy load already?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," I grumbled.

"You know, you can go to your father for help, Son."

"I know, Mom. I promise to do that if I need to. Okay?"

"Okay," she replied with a kiss to my cheek. "Don't be so hard on yourself." She then headed back to the door, picking the basket back up on her way out.

_"_I've really lost my mind now," I groused as I flung my pen at the wall in front of me and sank down in my chair to sulk some more.

The longer I sat there having my raging pity party for one, my eyes began to sag and get increasingly heavy. Thinking that maybe I'd reached the point of complete and utter exhaustion, that I might be able to actually sleep, I dragged myself up off the chair and over to my bed. My eyes were completely shut before my head even hit the pillow.

"_We interrupt your regular programing to bring you an update in the race to become the next mayor of Baltimore. Let's go live now to the convention center and see what's happening," the booming male voice blared from the television._

"_Hi, this is Lexi Carrington coming to you live from the heart of downtown Baltimore, where the latest vote tabulations are expected in any second."_

"_Is there any speculation at this time as to who the front runner is, Lexi?"_

"_There have been whispers circulating that Charles Swan has taken an unbeatable lead over Tyler Cullen, and that Mr. Cullen is expected to give a speech any time, conceding his run for the city's mayoral office," the bubbly reporter stated._

"_That's quite a turnaround in the expected outcome of this race. Any word from the Cullen camp? Or has there been any word as to what might have caused the votes to swing over to Swan's favor?" the TV anchorman asked his fellow reporter._

"_Well it's interesting that you should ask, Lou. Rumor has it that the mass amount of volunteer and humanitarian work that Charles Swan's daughter Isabella has done over the last several months has really boosted her father's votes. People are saying she has brought a softer, more down to earth, friendly, and ready to serve the people of this city type attitude to his campaign."_

"_Those are some pretty loaded rumors, Lexi."_

"_Yes they are, Lou. But it appears that Isabella Swan has charmed the constituents of this community in her father's favor. And with her dropping out of nursing school to be one of her father's humanitarian advisors, it looks like a win-win situation for the Swan supporters."_

"No, no, no, no," I groaned as I bolted upright in my bed.

"Fuck," I muttered, grabbing my pillow and throwing it across the room when I realized I had been dreaming.

I scrubbed my hands over my face, thinking back over my dream. I knew that, that was exactly was it was, a dream. I knew it was my worst fears playing on my subconscious thoughts, but part of me couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth to it. Had Bella spent her time in the Dominican this summer as a ploy to help her father's political campaign?

I didn't want to believe it was true. But it was hard not to consider that it was possible.

_Only one way you are going to find out, Cullen. Only one person can answer your questions. _

"Not ready for that yet," I said out loud, talking to myself again.

Bella may well be the one with the answers to my questions, but I was not ready to face her yet.

Glancing at the clock, I saw that I had actually been out for a couple of hours. Feeling a little less worn out than I had earlier, I got up and retrieved my pillow, tossing it back onto my bed. After that I went into my adjoining bathroom, grabbed the handle of the removable shower head, turned the water on and stuck my head under it, blasting it with cold water to further help me wake up. I dried my hair with a towel and then headed out to the kitchen to get a soda for some caffeine so I could give another go at my homework. It had to get done one way or another. There wasn't any other option.

_Well there is, but it's not an acceptable one. _

After grabbing the bottle of Dr. Pepper out of the fridge, I headed back to my room. My dad was coming out of his office as I walked back down the hall to my room.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure, Dad. What's up?"

"Come on in and have a seat, Son," he said while nodding his head towards his office.

I did as he asked, taking note of the seriousness to his tone of voice.

"How's the new year going so far?" he asked taking the seat across from me behind his desk.

"Good, but the workload is already much more than last year," I supplied. I sat my soda on the coaster sitting near the corner of his desk, getting the feeling that asking me about school was not really what he wanted to talk to me about.

"You will definitely see a big difference this year," he told me. "I remember well the life of a med student. The late night cramming sessions, loaded up on caffeine." He pointed at my soda with his last statement.

"Yeah I am sure caffeine will be my friend." I smiled and then said, "Well if that was all you wanted, Dad, I really need to get to that cramming you were talking about."

"No, actually it's not," he said placing his hand on a piece of paper that had been lying on his desk, scooting it across to me.

"What's this?" I asked, scratching the back of my head and glancing at the paper. It was some sort of an email addressed to him.

"That was what I was hoping you could tell me." He sat back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest, waiting for my answer. "Perhaps you could explain to me why I'm getting an email sent to my hospital account from someone named Mary Alice Brandon who is claiming to be a friend of Bella's."

"Not sure? Did she say why in the email?" I asked wondering if Bella had put her friend up to trying to reach me through my dad.

"Have you seen or talked to Bella, Edward?"

_Seen, kissed, talked to, and got lied to by her._

Sighing and gripping the arms of the chair I was sitting in a bit tightly, I nodded.

"Why do I get the feeling it wasn't the happy reunion you were expecting?"

"Because it wasn't," I snapped, instantly regretting it. "Look, Dad, I really need to get on my homework." I started to get up, hoping he'd see that I didn't really want to talk about this and let it go.

"With all due respect, Son, I can see you are upset. However, this conversation is not over. Please sit back down," he ordered in a tone that let me know he wouldn't be taking no for an answer.

I did as he asked.

"Let me fill you in on what the email says and then maybe you can enlighten me further."

I nodded.

Picking the sheet of paper up, he began, "Whoever this young lady is, she states very adamantly that what happened between you and Bella is a grave misunderstanding and is imploring me to encourage you to hear Bella out. She insists that once you know the entire reasoning for what Bella did, you will see things in an entirely different light. She goes on to say that Bella cares very deeply for you and asks that if you ever truly cared for Bella as much as you told her you did, that you at least owe it to her to hear her out before you make any further decisions regarding your relationship with her. That what she has to say will make a huge difference in your opinion."

He placed the piece paper back on the surface of his desk and pushed it over to me. Raising his gaze to meet mine, he asked. "Does any of this make sense to you? Can you explain this to me, Son?"

With my elbows resting on my knees, I let my head fall forward into my hands as I blew out a long gust of air.

A few minutes had gone by and my father became impatient waiting for me to answer him. "Edward," my dad said in a much more sympathetic tone than he'd had a moment ago. "What's going on, Son? It's clear you are upset over whatever happened."

I stood and walked over to the window. Standing there with my hands dug deeply into my pockets I began to tell him. "Bella was waiting for me in front of the med building Monday morning."

I heard him walk up behind me and once he was next to me felt something cold tapping me on the arm. Glancing over to where I felt the coldness I saw him holding out a cold beer to me. "Go on," he said.

"Thanks," I replied, taking the bottle from him, immediately downing a long swig of the cold fluid. "Still got that mini fridge in here huh?" I asked, flashing him a brief smirk, trying to lighten the mood a little. It didn't really work, though. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get around telling him about Bella.

"Yes. Despite your mother's protests," he offered with a chuckle. "Now come on. I know you are an adult, Son. I won't force you to tell me if you really don't want to, but you _can_ talk to me about anything. I mean how bad can it be? Did she break up with you?"

"No."

"You her?"

"No."

"Then I don't understand what has you so damn torn when you should be ecstatic," he told me before taking a long pull form his own beer. He then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and said, "I'm baffled. Help me understand, Edward. If she didn't break up with you and vice versa, then what the hell is this misunderstanding? The two of you stuck to the rules on the island rig—" His words cut off abruptly and his complexion turned a few shades lighter than it had been just seconds before. Looking me dead in the eye he spoke again, "You _did_ stick to the rules, right? Bella isn't…Son, is Bella pregnant?"

"What the hell, Dad? How can you even—"

"How can I? You have been moping for the last few weeks, hoping and praying we'd somehow find her. So forgive me for thinking that once you'd actually seen her that you'd be jumping for joy—beside yourself happy. Instead you'd think she died or something."

"Okay," I groaned beginning to see his point. "I get it now."

"Do you? Because I don't think you do. You are in a worse frame of mind now that you've seen her than you were before. So the only conclusion I can come to is that she gave you some sort of bad news. If you haven't broken up, then there are only so many things that could be bad enough to cause you to react as you have. So you tell me what else am I supposed to think."

I could see the concern in his eyes. "Have I really been that bad?"

"Yes. You aren't eating, you are short and sarcastic with your mother and me and you certainly aren't sleeping. Even if you didn't have bags and dark circles under your eyes, we'd know since we've heard you up wandering about the house at night, Son. And then there's the fact that you are so distracted you can't concentrate on your homework. You have never had an issue with your studies, Edward. It's too important to you. You know I do still remember the conversation you and I had when you were trying to decide whether or not to give up basketball. A sport you had been playing since you were in kindergarten. A sport you loved and hated to give up, but yet you did because your studies meant that much to you." He stopped and blew out a long breath, clapping his hand in a reassuring manner on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"You don't have to be sorry, Son. Your mother and I are just worried. I'm not trying to badger or scold you. We love you and want to help in any way we can."

I nodded in agreement, now really realizing how it must seem to them. I hadn't realized I'd been so transparent with what I was dealing with. I had thought I had been hiding it better. I was wrong.

"She's not pregnant," I told him and instantly saw the relief on his face. "We never went much past kissing. Not gonna lie and say I didn't want to. Or that she didn't. But we both respected you and Mom, and the rules you asked us to abide by."

"Then can you please explain to me?"

I just stared at him for a moment trying to figure out where to begin. I downed the rest of my beer in one gulp and then walked over to sit on the large black leather sofa he had in his office. I scrubbed my hands back and forth over my face a few times and then started with what seemed the easiest thing to say. "She lied to me about who she is."

"She what?" He closed the distance between himself and the sofa and took a seat next to me.

"Her last name. It's not Hale."

"Ok then just what is her last name? And how did she get approved by the Red Cross?"

"I don't know how she got through their red tape, but her last name is…" I looked up at him and took a deep breath. "Her last name is Swan. She's Charles fucking Swan's daughter, Dad."

* * *

**Okay, I am going to run and hide now, while I get busy on the next chapter. Please try to remember that the issue of her last name and who she is had to come out sooner or later. I tend to think sooner is much better than later.  
**

**Don't forget to head on over to the blog and check out the pictures of the Cullen's condo.**

**Thanks for reading. Let me know what ya think even if you want to yell and throw shit at my head right now. **

**See ya next time,**

**EA**


	12. Outta My Head

**Hi Everyone, I hope this finds all of you doing well and excited to see what Stretch and Bright Eyes are up to.  
**

**Thanks to My-Bella and Hope4More for all their help and input. I couldn't do this without them.  
**

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

* * *

**August 27, 2011**

***{Bella}***

"This is all she's done for the past six days," Skylar told Alice from where the two of them were standing in the hall just outside my bedroom. "And even though it's Saturday I heard her up early this morning and as far as I know she's been sitting there on her bed doing school work since then."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And I have no clue what she's doing 'cause we have the same classes and I don't have this much work. She's become like a robot. Operating on autopilot or something. She gets up, showers, goes to class, and comes home and does homework until she passes out, only to do it all over again the next day."

"Is she eating?" Alice asked.

"Not much from what I've seen. But we don't have all of our classes together or have lunch together all the time so I can't be sure," Skylar replied to her. "Maybe she's been replaced with one of those Stepford wives like people. They didn't eat from what I remember."

They both snickered at Sky's last comment, sending me over the edge. I'd had about all I could take. Slamming my book down on my bed, I barked at them, "Are you two about done talking like I'm not sitting right here, able to hear every word you're saying?"

"Oh come on, Bell. Of course we know you can hear us. We're just worried and trying to make you see how drastically your behavior has changed," Al said in a slightly remorseful tone as she came through the doorway, followed closely by Skylar.

_I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine… _I kept repeating in my head like a mocking bird several times before I said it out loud to them. "I'm fine. Why can't you just accept that?"

"Because it's total bullshit and you know it." Al took the calculator out of my left hand and grabbed my pencil out of the other as she spoke.

"No, what I know is that I have a shit-ton of homework to do, the two of you hovering like mother hens, and my mother calling me incessantly and it's all making me want to scream."

As if she had been given some sort of cue, my phone rang again with my mother's number showing up on the display. "See!" I shoved the phone at Al and smacked it into her hand. Then I started digging in my bag for another pencil.

"Well maybe you should scream," she said as she scrolled through my phone.

"Why? It won't change anything," I told her. "I messed up. I should have told him weeks ago when I had the chance. He's pissed and I don't blame him. So you tell me what good is screaming going to do?"

"Your mother has called you _seventeen _times in the past four days?" she asked looking up from my iPhone. I remained silent and shot her a pissed off look as she continued chastising me. "And at least if you were screaming you'd be showing some sort of emotion and letting it out instead of holding everything in and acting like you're frozen solid inside."

"Well excuse me if frozen is how I want to feel right now," I snapped before getting up and rushing to the bathroom.

I was about to break and cry.

_Again_.

I had done a good job so far of not letting them see how badly I was hurting and I was determined to keep it that way. When I'd said I wanted to feel frozen I'd meant it. However at this moment I felt anything but frozen. I was feeling so much I didn't know what to do with it all. It was too much, too strong, and I was afraid to feel it all. I was terrified that if I let everything I was feeling come to the surface, I'd be crushed by the weight of it all.

Watching Edward just walk away from me with the pain I saw in his eyes and the look of disgust on his face was more than my heart had been able to withstand. It was shattered into a million pieces and I just didn't think it was possible for it to ever feel any other way.

Didn't know if I even wanted it to.

I had no one but myself to blame for this mess. Sure I could be pissed off at Kelsey for blurting it out like she had, but truth of the matter was I should have already told Edward myself. And if my heart remained broken then I'd never have to worry about it being broken again by anyone else. No one could ever take _his_ place anyways. Even if my heart remained shattered for all eternity, it would always belong to Edward.

But there was no way I could let it all come out right now. I had to hold it together until the frozen numbness I'd heard about feeling when you get your heart broken set in. This was my fault after all.

I braced myself against the vanity with my hands clutching the edges tightly and let my head hang forward as I regained control over my emotions.

After the lump in my throat was shoved back down and I was able to breathe normally again, I looked up at myself in the mirror. The shadows under my eyes had become darker than I'd realized.

_Great! You look like some night walker from a horror movie._

I was digging through my makeup bag to find my concealer so I could attempt to hide the dark circles that had me looking like the dead when my bathroom door suddenly swung open.

"Sky is gone so you can cut the crap, Bell. I'm not buying this fucking act you are trying to pull off, so you can just give it up now," Al ordered as she came to a stop right next to me. Standing firmly in place, with one hand perched on her right hip, the other pointing back out to my bedroom and her foot tapping on the floor she issued her next demand, "Now."

Dropping the concealer back into my makeup bag, I turned and made my way back out to my room. Plopping down on the bed I looked straight up at her. "I

Following right on my heels, she didn't waste any time answering me. "What do I want you to say? How about the truth, Bell? I can understand it if you don't want to show Skylar how much this is really affecting you. But you can't hide it from me. You know this. Just tell me what's going on in that head of yours. I know you're hurting so badly so why won't you just let it out?"

She sat down next to me and pulled me into a hug before watching me as she waited for my reply.

"I can't. I don't know how," I whispered.

"What do you mean you don't know how? Yell, scream, shout, cry or throw shit across the room if you have to. But don't just sit there in silence and suffer. Get it out and then form a plan to get your man back."

I shook my head and snorted at her in disbelief of what she was suggesting. "Get him back? You didn't see the look on his face, Al. Not to mention he's the one that walked away from me while I begged him to listen to me." I paused, forcing my breathing to slow as the ache in my chest grew. Grabbing the E pillow that was sitting beside the matching B one, I mumbled into it, "It's done. O…over."

Clutching the pillow tighter, I felt the sting of tears as I squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I could to hold them back.

"Oh, sweetie," she said grasping both my arms in her hands. "I know you don't have any experience in this heartbreak thing, but from what Skylar told me about his reaction to seeing you…well… this is far from over. Sure he's hurt, sure he's pissed, and I know he walked away from you. But he's not over you, Bell. Not by a long shot."

"Doesn't matter, I can't be sure that you are right about his feelings for me and because of that I can't face him yet after how upset he was. And even if I could, I have no way to reach him."

I saw a hint of something flash in my best friend's eyes before she turned them down, hiding them from me. It worried me a little that she'd see my not having a way to contact Edward as a challenge and take it upon herself to either find a way or contact him herself.

"Um… that may not be entirely true," she said slowly, looking down at her lap and fiddling with the hem of her skirt, confirming what I had just been thinking.

I knew that reaction in her. That was exactly how she'd always acted when she had done something impulsively, something she probably shouldn't have done.

"Mary Alice Brandon. What did you do? Please tell me you didn't hunt him down and give him one of your lectures or stalk the poor man."

"No. That's uh…that's not what I did," she said in a sing-song voice. "I mean, I don't even know what he looks like. Although Sky says he is dreamy."

_Jesus, I am going to throttle them both if they don't stay out of this._

"And see, that right there is how you'd do it. Sky knows what he looks like. Is that what the two of you have been up to?" I asked.

"No," she said confidently.

"Good," I sighed in relief. As much as part of me had been hoping that maybe she'd had some contact with Edward, I didn't want her harassing him. He didn't deserve that. None of this was his fault.

"But I may or may not have done something else," she squeaked out so fast I could hardly make out the words. "And I'll tell you if you first promise not to be mad at me."

"Okay," I groaned.

"Promise," she insisted.

"Fine, I promise," I told her not really having the energy to be mad at her. It was taking all of my strength to hold on to my emotions as it was. I just didn't have it in me to add being angry at her to it all. And even not yet knowing what she had done, I knew she was only trying to help.

Standing, she got up and walked back and forth between me and the bathroom twice as she twirled a strand of her hair in her left hand.

"Al, come on. Just spit it out," I urged, unable to remain patient.

"Just…I didn't know what else to do," she stopped abruptly and raised her hands, letting them drop and smack the sides of her legs loudly. She let out a long huff and then propped her hands on her hips and stompped her foot. "I can't stand to see you hurting like this and…well it pisses me off that he didn't even let you explain."

"Why should he, Al? I lied to him. Even if it's by omission, I still should have told him."

"Oh you come on, Bell. Did he tell you that his uncle was running for mayor?" she shot back at me.

"No."

"Okay then."

"No, it's not okay. He may not have known. He told me that his family had been estranged for quite some time. I think he said that he hadn't had seen them since he'd graduated high school," I told her recalling the conversation Edward and I had, had his last day in the DR.

I went on to tell her everything Edward had told me about his family and what had happened between his father and grandfather.

"Well wanna know what I think?" she asked after I'd finished.

"Aren't you going to tell me anyways?" I said.

"Of course," she said with a laugh and a wide grin. "I think that since he's had some family issues of his own, then you'd think he wouldn't be one to jump to conclusions. I guess that might be harder to do than say when you are the one feeling betrayed, but he still should have let you explain."

"Well that's what I thought too. Guess I was wrong," I whispered, feeling the sadness threatening to overwhelm me again.

"Oh no, you stop that right now," she ordered. "You are not going to get all down in the dumps again."

"Oh should I jump up and down for joy and celebrate instead?" I snapped at her. "Throw an 'I broke Edward's heart party'."

"No. That's not what I am saying, Bell," she said softly with a sympathetic look on her face. "But after what you've told me about his family's past, I think that maybe what I did could help."

"Well why don't you tell me then? You made me promise not to be mad, but you still haven't told me what it is that you did."

"You remember how we found his dad's hospital email when we were looking for Edward on Facebook and so on?" she asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well…I emailed him," she said hesitantly and waited for my reaction.

"Why? I asked sharply, worried that she could make things worse. "What did you tell him, Al? 'Hi I'm Alice, Bella's friend. You know the girl that lied to your son and broke his heart'."

"Essentially, yes," she said with a shrug, which told me that was basically exactly what she had done.

"What do you mean 'essentially'?"

"I did tell him who I was and that I was your friend. I also explained that he might think I'm sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong and I understood that it was a bit unconventional for me to be contacting him this way. I apologized for that and I assured him that it was necessary and also the only way for me to reach him or Edward. I assured him that you really do care very much for Edward and that I didn't want to see the two of you lose what you have over something that really isn't as big of a deal as it seems.

"I told him that what happened between you and Edward was a grave misunderstanding and I implored him to encourage Edward to hear you out. I insisted to him that once Edward was aware of the entire reasoning behind what you did, he would see things in an entirely different light. Then I might have gone on to say that you care very deeply for Edward and asked him to tell Edward that if he ever truly cared for you as much as he told he you he did, that he at least owed it to you to hear you out before he made any further decisions regarding your relationship with him. That what you have to say would possibly make a huge difference in his opinion."

"You said all that to him?"

_I was stunned and wondering what the hell Carlisle and Esme must be thinking about me._

"Yep, sure did," she told me proudly, like she was mentally patting herself on the back. But quickly her facial features softened and her voice did too and I could see her true concern for me in her eyes. "Are you mad?"

I blew out a long breath of air and ran my fingers through my hair, then wrapped and unwrapped its long length around my hand a few times as I mulled over what she'd done.

_Was I mad? _

I didn't think so. Did I wish she hadn't done it? Yes. But everything she had said to Carlisle had been the truth.

"No I'm not mad."

"Really?" she squealed as she pounced on me with a huge hug.

"Really," I told her. "But…"

"But what?" She pulled back and cocked an eyebrow at me as if to say, you said you weren't mad so what's the 'but' about.

"But I wish you wouldn't have. He probably told you to never contact him again."

"Um…no. Actually I haven't heard anything from him. But I gave him my phone number and email address so that Edward had a way to contact you."

"Yeah, like that will really happen. He probably tossed the email in the trash without a word to Edward," I quipped and flopped backwards on my bed, closing my eyes and fighting off the urge to cry.

"Hey," Al whispered. I felt her scooting over next to me. She gave my hand a squeeze and laid down beside me. "You don't know that. From what you've told me, his parents are the type that would let Edward make his own decisions."

"Maybe," I conceded.

"Just give him some time, Bell. Guys are pissy when they get mad or have their feelings hurt. Their first natural reaction is to get pissed and shut themselves down. They need to stew for a few days. Let Edward have his time to stew and then I have a feeling curiosity will get the better of him and he will at least want to know why and that's when you will get your chance to fix things."

"Maybe," I gave her again.

"Okay, enough about broken hearts and guys," she declared bouncing up and yanking on my arm to get me to sit up with her. "Why the hell is your mother calling you so much?"

"Ugggghhh," I groaned. "She is insisting that I attend the Black and White Ball."

"Ooh, yeah I've heard about that. This really cool chick I met at school, Rosalie…Well actually she's sort of going to be my math tutor. She's the TA in my algebra class and has offered to help me. I didn't want to wait until I started having issues. Anyways she's in my public speaking class too and we were talking about the ball."

"Yes, well my mother is insisting that I need to go to show my support for my father. I don't know how to get it through her thick head that I am not at all, in the least little bit, interested in supporting my father or being involved in his political affairs," I said, sighing in frustration.

"I might have a way for you to do just that. It might help prove your point to Edward too." She had a 'cat that just swallowed the canary grin' on her face that made me wonder if I really wanted to know what she had in mind.

After a few seconds of watching her sitting there grining at me, and practically seeing the smoke coming out of her ears as she concocted whatever devious plan she was thinking up, my curiosity got the better of me.

_Besides, if it could help me with Edward it might just be worth braving one of Al's schemes._

"I'm not saying I am agreeing to do this by any stretch of your wild and crazy imagination, Mary Alice, but go ahead and tell me how whatever you are drumming up in that silly head of yours could possibly help me with my mother and Edward."

"Okay," she cheered and sat up straighter, nearly bouncing in excitement. "Well as you know, the Black and White Ball is a political fundraiser."

"Yeah. Go on."

"Well, as you also know, my parents are supporting Tyler Cullen."

"Yes, I do. Don't blame them," I told her.

"My parents have asked me to work at one of the tables that will be taking a mock vote, and giving out pamphlets with Mr. Cullen's views on all the issues in the upcoming election."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with me?" I asked.

"I'm getting there," she said. "Turns out that Rosalie will be working the table too and we still need a couple more volunteers. You could do it too, Bell."

"I don't know, Al. I don't know if I want to create the massive shit-storm that will happen if my parents see me working at a table promoting the competition. I think I'd rather just stay as far away from the whole political thing as much as possible."

"Come on," she whined. "Just think about this for a second, Bell. Yes your parents will be pissed, but they will finally have the wake-up call they have needed for a long time to see you are not, and will not be, the person they want you to be. And what would send a more clearer picture to Edward than for you to be supporting his uncle?"

"I don't know."

"Just think about it. Please, Bell. I know you will be really putting yourself out there on a limb, but you love him don't you?"

"Who? Edward?"

"No, Santa Clause, you goof. Of course I mean Edward."

"Yes. Of course I love him," I choked out. It hurt so much to say those words and not know if he had ever felt anything remotely close to that for me.

"Then promise me you will at least think about it. I'm going to see if Sky wants to help too."

"Okay, I'll think about it. But that is all I am promising you. And don't go getting your panties in a twist, because I seriously doubt that I do it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear ya, Bell. Now let's go get something to eat. I know you haven't been eating so don't even try to argue with me."

Betraying me, my stomach growled loudly, which meant there was no way I was going to get out of going with her. Grabbing my purse and phone, I went along without argument.

As we headed down to the elevator I began to toy with what she'd said. Maybe it was time I did something that was so blatant there was no way it could be misconstrued as anything other than what it was. If I stood up and openly supported Edward's uncle, my parents would really see that I did not support my father's views or theirs on a whole. And if I was supporting Edward's uncle, there was no way he could accuse me of volunteering this summer as a ploy to make my father look good or as a way to somehow get info on his family.

It was a big risk.

Huge.

My parents would likely never speak to me again.

_Of course when I continued through nursing school and didn't cave to their pressure to be some snobby, uptight socialite, they were probably going to turn their backs on me anyways. So just what would I be losing?_

_Nothing._

_But I could gain Edward._

The flip side wasEdward could still not want anything to do with me ever again. But wasn't it worth the risk? Wasn't _he_ worth the risk? There was no question he was, but I still needed to think more on this before making a decision.

**August 27, 2011**

***{EPOV}***

_"Her last name is Swan. She's Charles fucking Swan's daughter, Dad."_

My father stood and paced back and forth in front of me three or four times before stopping and facing me. He blew out a long breath while running his hand through his hair. If this were any other time, I might laugh at his actions given I had inherited the same mannerisms from him. My mother used to say that she'd frequently find me watching him when I was a little boy, mimicking every move he made, and that it showed often now that I was older. However there was nothing to laugh at right now.

"Are you certain of this?" he asked.

"Yes. She confirmed it after Kelsey Mathews more or less let it slip."

"How did Kelsey find out?"

"I have no idea."

"She didn't explain it to you?" His eyebrow quirked in curiosity as he asked the question.

"Which one?"

"Well I guess both, Son. Did Kelsey elaborate on how she knew this information? Did Bella explain herself to you after she admitted what Kelsey said was true?" He turned around the chair in front of his desk that I had been sitting in before so he could sit facing me.

"No on them both," I told him as I slumped back against the cool leather of the sofa.

"No?"

"No. I was so pissed at Kelsey that she'd say such a thing about Bella, and certain she was telling some horrible lie, I ran her off as fast as I could."

"And once Kelsey left did Bella just admit it was true or did you question her about it?" my father wanted to know.

I took a deep breath and explained to him what had happened. How Bella had been so upset and I at first had thought that it was because of the so-called lie I thought Kelsey had told, and how Bella had then admitted it was true.

"That must have been very difficult for the both of you," he stated in a somber tone.

"Yeah I guess. I know it was for me. I still can't wrap my head around it, Dad. I thought I knew her. I don't understand how she could keep something like this from me. Or why she would. Unless…"

"Unless what? Finish what you were going to say please," he requested.

"Well the only thing that makes sense to me is that she was there as some sort of political ploy for her father."

"Did she tell you that? Did you ask her why she had used a different last name? Or why she never told you?"

"No. All I know is that she said no one knew she had used a fake name, including Peter, and that it had something to do with her dad and that she couldn't tell anyone. So the only thing that makes sense to me is that she was trying to help his campaign. I didn't stick around long enough to find out anything else after that," I explained.

"The two of you didn't talk about this? You didn't ask her to explain what she meant by it having to do with her father?" he asked. His tone had changed from one of concern to one of annoyance and I didn't understand why.

"There wasn't time. We both had to get to class."

"So then when are you going to talk to her?" my mother asked, causing my father and me both to look over to the doorway, where she was standing. "Well?" she asked as she entered the room and sat next to me on the sofa.

"I don't know," I murmured, looking down at the floor.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, please tell me that you did _not_ accuse that girl of using her work in the DR as a political ploy to help her father and then run off on her, without at least agreeing to hear her out at some point," my mother demanded.

"Well if this email is any indication of what went down between the two of them, then I'd say it's highly likely that's exactly what he did," my father said to my mother as he twisted around and grabbed the paper from his desk and passed it to her.

A few moments went by as my mother read the email and then she responded to it, "Oh, Edward, why didn't you hear her out? I am so disappointed in you."

"What? You're disappointed in me?" I shot up off the sofa and stood there in shock. "Do you know what it did to me to learn she kept something like this from me? How hard it was to find this out?"

"Yes, Son, I am sure it was quite the shock to you. Neither one of us are trying to minimize how devastating this must be for you. But, Edward, you were not raised to judge people. To believe the worst about them without first getting all the facts." She rose from the sofa and walked over to me, taking my hand in hers. Softening the tone of her voice she continued, "After everything your father has been through with his father, you should know better than to just assume the worst."

"Maybe so," I gave her, "But it doesn't make it any easier to swallow. I lo—" _Fuck I'd almost said it again_. "I cared…still care for her so much. Hell, I can't get her out of my head, even now when I'm furious with her," I huffed. "I trusted her like no one else. Ever. I know I wasn't raised to judge. But I also know I was raised to tell the truth and to always be honest. So how am I supposed to deal with such a huge lie? How am I supposed to get past that?"

"You start by finding out the truth," my father told me. "The whole truth, Son."

"And just how am I supposed to do that?"

"Oh, Edward," my mother chuckled. "You are such a smart man, but so blind right now."

"What?" I asked thinking she was talking in cryptic messages I was supposed to magically understand.

"It's never easy when you are disappointed in the one you love," she said while smiling gently at me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up there. I never said that I lo—"

My mother held her hand up, cutting me off.

She shook her head and smiled knowingly at me and as I looked at my father I noticed he had a bit of a sly smirk forming on his face even though he was looking at the floor like he was trying to hide his face from my view.

"You don't have to say it, Son. Maybe you don't realize it yet. It's possible your brain hasn't caught up to your heart yet. But trust me, it's clear to everyone around you just how deeply you feel about Bella. Listen to your father, you need to find out the truth before you judge her or make any decisions on your future with her." She paused long enough to give my hand a squeeze when I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Hey," she said pulling me out of my own head. "Go to her, Edward. Go to her and hear her out. And remember to keep an open mind when you do. Maybe you will understand once you have all of the facts, maybe you won't. But the one thing you can be sure of is that you will know why. You won't have any 'what ifs' left hanging over your head. You won't have any regrets to look back on and wonder about."

"How can you be so sure hearing her out will make such a difference?" I asked my mother.

"Because that girl that I met in the DR—there was nothing fake about her."

"How do you know?" I wanted so badly to believe my mother was right.

It was my father that answered me this time. "Because you can't fake the kind of caring and compassion she showed to those people, Son. She has a gift and it's a natural one. It's not one that comes with being trained or schooled in how to act and what to say. The kind of caring and compassion she showed the people of the DR can only come from within a person who truly cares about helping those in need."

I nodded in agreement with him. I didn't think for one second she had been faking while we were there. So maybe she did have some explanation for keeping her secret.

"You also can't fake the way she was with you either, Edward," my mom added to what my father had just said.

"What do you mean?"

"The way to the two of you acted around each other. The kind of connection you had can't be faked either, Son. The way the two of you moved around each other. You guys were always in sync. You'd move, she'd move. It was like there was some invisible force tying you together. She wasn't playing games with you. Her emotions were written all over her face every time she looked at you. Just as yours were when you'd look at her," she explained.

"It was that obvious?" I asked, thinking we had done a pretty good job of keeping our feelings contained in front of everyone.

"Maybe not to most," my father said. "But to someone who has experienced that kind of connection with someone they care so deeply for, it's quite easy to see. Your mother and I commented on more than one occasion how you and Bella reminded us of ourselves when we were younger."

"Really?" I was really surprised with their comments.

"Really," my mom said confidently and without hesitation which told me she absolutely meant it. "Now here." She handed me the email. "You might need this. It has her friend's phone number and email on it. It might come in handy for trying to reach Bella."

"Thanks," I told them both and after kissing my mom on the cheek, I grabbed my soda from the corner of my dad's desk and headed back to my room.

**September 2, 2011**

"So, bro, this broad you fell for over the summer is really the enemy's daughter?" Emmett asked as we drove down Broadway to our favorite pizza place.

"She's not a broad. Her name's Bella. And yes, she's Charles Swan's daughter."

I knew he hadn't really meant anything by calling Bella a broad. That was just Emmett. But it still bothered me. Another week had gone by and I still couldn't get her out of my head. While I was having a lot more success at concentrating on my school work, she was still popping into my thoughts frequently and my feelings for her hadn't lessened at all.

Neither had the level of how upset I was over her lying to me.

"Man, you are so still hooked on this chick," he chirped as we turned into the parking lot.

"Fuck off, Emmett." I got out and slammed the truck door closed much harder than I'd meant to.

"See, that right there proves it," he said as I pulled the door to the pizza place open. "Just saying, bro, you have walked away from other chicks for far less than what this Bella has done and you never looked back, never thought twice about them once it was over."

I slid across the bench of the booth we had selected near the front window of the pizzeria. "So what if I do still care for her?"

"I don't know, dude. Just saying you've never let anyone get under your skin like this before. So what are ya going to do?"

The waitress came over to our table to take our order. "Hey, guys," Jessica said cheerily. "You want the usual today?" She placed menus and a glass of water for each of us down on the table.

Without even looking at the menu I replied, "Yeah, but bring me a bottle of beer instead of soda." I scooted the menu back towards her and stared out the large window.

"What about you, Emmett? You want a beer too?" Jessica asked.

"Nope, I'm driving."

Jessica nodded and left to go place our order. Neither of us said anything for a couple of minutes. The silence was broken by the clatter of our drinks being placed on the table and Jessica's squeaky, annoying voice telling us she'd have our pizza out to us in a few more minutes.

I took a long swig of the beer, chugging nearly half the bottle in just a couple of swallows.

"Wow," Emmett remarked as I set the bottle back down on the table.

"What?"

"I'm stupefied, dude."

"Over me chugging my beer? How long have we known each other? Like six, seven years now? What's so shocking about that?"

"Not talking about your beer drinking abilities. What I am talking about is the fact Jessica practically had her boobs laid out on the table for us to look at and you didn't even notice. Not even a glance."

"So? It's not like she hasn't done it every time we're in here. It gets old after a while."

"Gets old? Who the fuck are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Emmett huffed. "You must have lost your dick in the DR along with your phone, buddy."

"You're fucking funny," I retorted.

"Only thing funny is that you are so far gone over this chick that I bet Jessica could have whipped the twins out and you wouldn't have noticed."

"Like I said, she does it every time. You wanna stare at her boobs, go for it. I'm sure she'd let you cop a feel too if you wanted."

"You really don't get it do you?" he asked.

"Get what?" He was starting to annoy me now.

"I'll give you the fact that she does it every time we're here. But—" He was cut off by Jessica arriving with our pizza.

"Here you guys go. Enjoy and let me know if I can get either or _both_ of you _any_ thing else," she said in what I'm sure she thought was a sexy voice, eyeing both of us and making it clear she'd happily take on either one of us. And if that hadn't been enough, she then slid a napkin with her number on it down the middle of the table. Problem was, I found nothing remotely appealing about her. Jessica Stanley was bad news and most of the guys on campus new it.

As soon as she was out of ear shot Emmett jumped right back into his banter. "As I was saying, sure she does it every time, but, dude, you have always looked, even if you rolled your eyes at her afterwards. Even when you were dating someone you looked. Always said there's no harm in reading the menu as long as you didn't sample it. So either you've lost your dick or have a sudden aversion to boobs or this chick has really done a number on you."

"You know, I don't see you jumping at what Jessica is offering. Maybe you're the one who's lost his dick," I barked back at him.

"Calm down, man," he said raising both his hands in a surrendering motion. "I'm not trying to piss you off. I just don't get why, if you are still so hung up on this Bella girl, why you aren't trying to work things out with her. What the hell was her reason for not telling you anyways?"

"I don't know," I told him before downing the rest of my beer. I held it up so Jessica could see it and I motioned for another one.

"Whoa, back the truck up, dude," Emmett said leaning back in his seat, giving me a look of disbelief. "What do you mean you don't know? She didn't tell you? Offer any explanation?"

I sighed and scrubbed my hand over my face. I picked up the new beer that Jessica had set on the table and twisted the cap off. Taking a drink, I then looked at my friend and answered him.

"She tried but I didn't stick around to hear her out."

"So you got pissed and stormed off or what? Help me out here because seeing how miserable you are I don't get why you wouldn't want to know," he requested.

"What don't you get? I was pissed, hurt, upset. I felt betrayed like I never have before in my life. I didn't feel this shitty when Leah cheated on me and dumped me for Jake two years ago. And I'm really getting tired of talking about it."

"So then what are you going to do? Mope for the rest of your life over something you could still fix? Or are you going to get off your ass and find out why she lied to you?"

"I don't know. My parents think I should."

"That seems to be your answer a lot these days, bro. I don't think that's working for ya. And I have to say that if your parents are encouraging you to do it, then I don't see what's stopping you," he said chastising me.

"Just let me figure it out on my own," I grumbled.

"How? You know I could hack the school's computer system and get her email address or phone number for ya," he offered a little too eagerly as he shoved half a piece of pizza into his mouth.

Emmett had already completed his bachelor's degree in computer science at Loyola and was in his first year of their master's program for computer science and software engineering. He had been a computer geek for as long as I'd known him and according to his mom he could take apart and build a computer before he could drive.

"No hacking needed. I actually have her best friend's contact information."

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?" The look on his face told me he clearly didn't understand why I just wasn't ready yet to confront Bella and have her confirm what I was already sure of, that our whole summer was just a political stunt.

I took my time and finished the piece of pizza I was eating before I answered him. "Look I'm done talking about this. I'll figure it out for myself."

"Let me know how that works out for ya," he quipped.

We were both quiet as we finished off our food and watched the latest sports updates on the TV mounted to the corner wall of the pizzeria.

"By the way," Emmett said after draining his glass of soda and setting the empty dish back on the table with a thud. "I've got two tickets to the Orioles game Saturday night. You game?"

"You don't know how badly I wish I could. But I can't."

"Come on. These are seats in the all-inclusive area, dude. I thought for sure you'd be salivating all over them. Don't tell me you can't take a couple hours off from studying and go to the game with me," he exclaimed.

"It's not school work. Believe me I wish it were," I said with a groan of frustration. "I'm sure you've heard about the big shindig, the political fundraiser going on this weekend?"

"Yeah. What's it called? Oh The Black and White Ball or some shit like that. My parents are going to that. That's how I came to have the tickets. They gave me theirs."

"Yeah that's the one. So anyways I promised my parents I'd go to show my support for my uncle. I don't really want to, but you know yourself how great my parents are and they don't ask much from me. So…"

"So you feel obligated to do this for them," he stated.

"Yes and no," I told him. "Yes for all the obvious reasons. This is not something I would normally do or that they'd do either for that matter."

"But?" Emmett asked.

"But since my grandfather's death, my father is really trying to help reunite his family and I can't begrudge him that," I explained.

"And I guess that would be the reason why you don't feel obligated," he surmised.

"Yep," I said and glanced down at my watch. "Shit it's almost five. I've gotta go. You ready or you want me to call my dad and have him swing by and pick me up?"

We weren't far from the hospital, so it would have been easy for him to do so.

"No, just tell me where we're off to."

We quickly paid our tab and made our way back out to his truck.

"I need to get over to that tux place downtown on Main Street."

"No problem." He started the truck and we were off. "Monkey suit for the Black and White thing?"

"Yeah. You know if I thought you'd even consider it, I'd try to talk you into to going," I joked.

"Bet you could really use a wingman, huh?" he asked sarcastically.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Other than my cousin Jasper, I doubt there will be anyone I'll be interested in associating with there."

"Well this might just be your lucky day, bro," he said reaching over with one hand and punching me in the arm.

"How's that?" I asked.

"Well the way I see it, there's a good chance you could run into this Bella chick since it's a political fundraiser and her father _will _be there, which means she most likely will be too. So you are gonna need someone on your side."

"Fuck," I growled.

"What?"

"I hadn't even thought about that. I have to get out of this, Emmett. Maybe my parents won't be too pissed if I go to the game with you."

I did not want to have to spend the night watching her promote her father's campaign and have it thrown in my face the entire evening.

"Nope. Too late. It's time for you to quit being a pussy and face this thing head on. Besides, I am dying to see what's so special about this girl that she's had your panties in such a knot like no other girl ever has before."

"Gee thanks. I thought you were my friend," I mumbled.

"Don't mention it," he said smiling like the Cheshire cat, wagging his eyebrows at me.

I didn't know what was going to happen at this ball, but one thing was almost a certainty—I would be seeing Bella for the first time since I'd walked away from her a couple of weeks ago.

Was I ready for it? I wasn't sure. But somehow I got the feeling it didn't really matter. All I could do was try to make the best of the situation and hope that things didn't somehow end up worse than they already were.

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**So...Edward is assuming Bella will be at the Black and White Ball because of her father. What do you think she will do and if she's there, what do you think will happen? I can't wait to read your thoughts. **

**Also I had a guest review for the last chapter from someone named Debbie. Debbie, I can reply to your review and answer your questions unless you login when you leave your review.  
**

**Thanks so much for reading.  
**

**See you next time,  
**

**EA  
**


	13. Taking A Stand

**Hi, Everyone. Only seven more days until Breaking Dawn Part 2. I'm excited, how about you? I Was going to post this tomorrow, but it will likely be a busy day for me so I thought I'd go ahead and give this chapter to ya tonight. I hope you enjoy it.  
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**As always, thank you to My-Bella and Hope4More.  
**

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

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**September 8, 2011**

***{Bella}***

"Isabella, don't you take that tone with me." I could practically see her sneering at me through the phone. I was sure by the domineering sarcastic sound of her voice that she had that same disgusted expression on her face as she'd had a few weeks ago when I'd left for school.

"What do you expect, Mother? You're basically blackmailing me into going to this stupid ball by threatening to not pay for my tuition. Did you really think I'd be happy about it?"

"Stop being so dramatic. It's not my fault I have to use such tactics to make you do what's right. I am simply trying to do what's best for you, since you are not capable of doing it yourself. One day you will thank me for this."

"I doubt that," I mumbled softly.

"What was that?" she asked coldly.

"Nothing, I'll see you there, Mother. Right now I have to go," I told her and hung up before she had a chance to rant about anything else.

"Uggggh," I groaned as I tossed my phone onto my bed.

I had actually planned on skipping the Black and White Ball, but now my mother was making it impossible for me to do that. While Al's idea of showing my support for Edward's uncle had been very enticing, I also feared that it would only raise more questions and cause more trouble than anyone involved would want to have to deal with. If it were a simple, black and white issue of just showing my support for one person over the other in order to win Edward's affections back, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but that was not the case.

After giving the idea a lot of thought I realized that it wouldn't be that simple at all. Frist of all, I wasn't just any other person showing their support for someone. If I were to suddenly be seen publically supporting Tyler Cullen, not only would my parents and me both be hounded by the media with questions, but it would also cause Mr. Cullen to be bombarded with questions about how he got the opponent's daughter on his team.

Anyone who had anything remotely to do with politics knew that the media could cause a frenzy even where there was not a need for one, and the last thing Mr. Cullen needed was to have any speculation raised about any of his campaign promises or ideas because of my involvement with Edward. Especially when he would be totally blindsided by such speculation given he'd never asked for my support. I just couldn't do something like that which could adversely affect those who didn't deserve it.

Al and Sky had tried to argue that my parents deserved every bit of bad media attention they received if I did go support the other side given they had treated me like a possession they owned more than they had ever treated me as their child, but doing so would only make me be more like them. I refused to be selfish and uncaring like they were. In going through with this ploy I would only be serving myself and not taking into consideration how my actions might affect others and I just wasn't willing to do that.

The most I could hope to gain out of attending the ball was to see Edward, hopefully talk to him, and get him to agree to hear me out. Well, that and shutting my mother up.

Plopping down on my bed I sighed. Now not only did I have to deal with going to this ball thing, I had to find a formal gown for it. Sure I had several at my parents' house from the previous outlandish affairs they had forced me to attend, but that would mean the possibility of running into them. Which only left me with one option…I was going to have to go shopping with Al.

Not having any time to waste—the ball was in two days—I reached behind me and patted around on my bed until I found my phone and called Al.

"I need to go shopping," I said quickly and pulled the phone a few inches from my ear, preparing for the shriek of excitement I was sure was coming.

It was louder than I'd imagined it'd be, causing me to cringe.

She was still squealing as she asked, "Just what is it that we are going shopping for, Bell? You know I think this is the first time in all the years we've known each other that you have actually asked me to go shopping with you."

"Never say never, right," I teased her.

"Nope," she replied. "So what is the reason for this momentous occasion? Wait. You're going to go to the ball after all and you need a dress. Right?" When I didn't reply right away she added, "Please tell me I'm right."

"Yes, but not for the reasons you think."

"Why then? Bella, please tell me you aren't caving to your mother."

"She didn't leave me any other choice. Well, she did, but it's not an acceptable one. Not yet anyways."

"What does that even mean? What did she do? Did she threaten you somehow?" she asked.

"That's exactly what she did," I told her, letting out a dejected sigh, hating that my mother had put me in this position.

"With what?" she demanded, her voice filled with her dislike for my parents.

"That she'd refuse to pay for the rest of my nursing school," I said sadly.

"What kind of parent does that to their child?" she asked bitterly.

"Apparently the kind I was gifted with," I returned snidely.

"Are you sure that you don't want to go with my plan?"

"I'm positive, Al. I won't stoop to their level. That's not who I am and I won't become that person no matter what they do. I can't. But I do understand why you think I should and I hope you understand why I can't."

"Of course I do and I'm so sorry, Bell. I hate that they treat you like they do. They are so undeserving of having a daughter like you."

"Well hopefully soon it won't matter. I've decided to check into a few options that won't let her hold my schooling over my head anymore."

"You know, Bell, my parents think of you as their daughter, I could talk to them. I'm sure they'd be gl—"

I knew what she was about to say and it wasn't that I was too proud to accept help from her parents. Heck they'd been more like parents to me than my own ever had. But if I did this on my own, then there'd be no one for my mother to lash out at if she didn't get things to go her own way. Unfortunately for now, I had to bite my tongue where my mother was concerned, and remain hopeful the day when I didn't wasn't too far off.

"No. I know what you are going to say, Al. And I know that your parents would help me if I asked. But this is something I really want to try and do on my own first. Can you understand that?"

"Yes I can. Just promise me you won't forget that you do have me and my family behind you one hundred percent."

"I won't. Now are we going shopping or what? We don't have much time."

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Meet me at the mall in twenty," she ordered in her excitement.

"I'll be there," I told her with a chuckle. Leave it to her to get me somewhat excited over going to the mall.

**Saturday, September 10, 2011**

"Look," Sky whispered as we made our way to the back of the library. She'd spotted Luke sitting at a table by himself in the study area and was now headed right for him.

Lately he had seemed to be popping up here a lot at the same time as me. I wasn't sure if it was coincidental or if perhaps Sky was helping him out in some way, filling him in on when I would be here.

Sky had made it no secret on what her opinion was about the way Edward had walked away from me without giving me a chance to explain myself. She had it in her mind that if Edward didn't want me then I should put my efforts into being with someone who did, and Luke had been nothing but persistent in trying to get me to go out with him.

Even though Sky had made her opinion clear, she wasn't trying to push me in one direction or the other. She had simply let me know what she thought and claimed to understand why I wasn't ready to close the door on my and Edward's relationship yet. However she also told me that I shouldn't slam shut any other doors of opportunity either.

The two of us were about to sit down at the table with Luke when I noticed that someone else must be sitting with him as there was a stack of books and a few notebooks scattered across from him on his table and a second backpack on the floor near the spot. I nodded my head for Sky to move down towards the other end of his table when Luke's sister joined him, causing Sky and I to choose the table next to him instead.

"I'd really love to put that snobby little witch in her place," Sky sneered softly and glared over at Kelsey.

"She didn't know, Sky," I told her for what felt like the hundredth time.

I completely understood why Sky was ticked off at Kelsey—I was too. Because even though she may not have been aware of the fact that Edward hadn't already known what my last name was, the jealousy in her reactions that day had been clear. And even if they hadn't, the satisfied smirk I'd seen on her face when I'd finally pulled myself together enough to walk away from the med school building that morning had said it all. But right now I was trying my damnedest to avoid her. I had enough to deal with and didn't need to add her snotty attitude to the mix.

"Doesn't change the fact that she enjoyed watching Edward dump you," Sky replied louder than she should have, drawing both Luke and his sister's attention to us.

"I'm sorry," I said to the both of them. "She's just looking out for me."

"Is it true?" Luke asked. His voice had a slight air of hopefulness in it.

"Is what true?" I returned.

"What my dear brother wants to know is, did Edward break up with you?" Kelsey replied, jumping in and asking for her brother.

"He's not the _only_ one," Sky muttered, shooting Kelsey a sarcastic smirk.

I shot Sky a glance that told her to shut up. The last thing I needed was for a big argument to happen right here in the middle of the library or anywhere else for that matter.

"Well, it appears present company doesn't want me around, dear brother," Kelsey said in a fake hurt tone. The smirk on her face and the way she rolled her eyes gave her away. Luke hadn't looked up at his sister to see the poor act she was putting on. I sure hoped he wasn't falling for it. "No worries though I've got to get working on my hair for the ball tonight. It isn't easy creating a masterpiece ya know. You boys have it far too easy."

Luke chuckled at his sister and told her he'd see her later.

She gathered her stuff, got up and started to walk away when Sky said to her, "We'll see ya at the ball, Cinderella. Don't forget to be home by midnight. I'd hate to see your masterpiece turn into a rat's nest."

"Skylar," I admonished softly while trying not to burst out laughing.

Kelsey stopped and spun back around, looking directly at me. "Bella, can I speak to you outside for a moment?"

"Kels, don't," Luke told her.

"Don't what, Luke?" she shot back at him with a quick glare before turning her icy gaze back to me. "I just want to talk to her for a minute. I simply need to set some things straight so we can end this needless animosity."

"I'll be right back," I said to Sky while I got up. As I moved to follow Kelsey outside, I tuned back to Sky and added, "This should be interesting."

She nodded and then asked, "Want me to come too?"

"Nope. I can handle this," I said confidently.

I was confident. Kelsey didn't scare me. She had already done her worst as far as I was concerned and I was actually very curious to see what she had to say to me. I didn't know what she thought it was she needed to set straight though. Everything was pretty clear from my perspective. The way I saw it was even if things were over for good between Edward and me, I didn't think she stood a snowball's chance in hell of sinking her claws into him. She was the poster child for the exact type of girl he wanted nothing to do with. And if she did…well then that told me he was not the man I thought he was, and if that were the case I was better off finding that out now.

Once outside we walked over to the side of the building, out of sight and ear range of anyone entering or leaving the library.

Wanting to get this over with, I didn't wait around for her to start the conversation. "What is it you want, Kelsey? You're not the only one who has things to do. I don't have a lot of time to waste out here with you."

"Is it true? Did Edward dump—sorry I meant break up with you?" she asked a little too eagerly for my liking.

"Not exactly," I told her.

"Really, Bella? What does that mean? Either you are or you aren't. Surely you know the difference." Kelsey quirked an eyebrow at me and folded her arms across her chest with one of her hips jutted out while she stood there smirking at me like I was an idiot. She had this overconfident, sly smile of disbelief on her face as if to say she was thinking I was fooling myself if I thought I still had a chance with Edward.

_She has no idea. _

This chick was in for one hell of a rude awakening. She had no idea the depth of the feelings Edward and I shared. No matter if he was pissed and hurt by me, if he felt for me anywhere near as much as I did for him…well you just didn't get over that quickly. They weren't the type of emotions that you could just toss aside even if you were incredibly mad at someone. And that was exactly what I was banking on. Al had been telling me as much all along and I had finally started to really think about it and believe that she was right. The alternative was entirely too painful to believe. It would take a lot more than Edward walking away from me hurt and angry for me to believe that he didn't still want me. He would have to say those exact words to me. Until then I had hope.

"Oh I know the difference all right. But what I don't know is why does it matter to you, Kelsey? Why do you care?" I asked already pretty sure I knew why she was so interested in the status of my relationship with Edward.

_She wants him for herself. Over my dead body._

"Why? Well because of course I feel badly that I caused all this drama. It really was not my intent," she said trying to sound sweet and apologetic. However she was failing at it miserably. Her voice was anything but apologetic. It was full of sarcasm and this time I was the one staring at her in disbelief. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of people she surrounded herself with if they actually fell for her bullshit.

_Ugh_, I internally groaned. This sweet act she was trying to pull off was making me nauseous. It was clear to see she was on a fishing expedition. All she wanted was to know if Edward was free for her to pursue. I was shocked that it even mattered to her, unless she was trying to gage whether or not I was going to go away quietly or if she'd have a fight for him on her hands.

_Hell yeah she would._

"Well, Kelsey, the truth of the matter is, I should have already told Edward myself. I was already planning on doing that very soon. So whether you told him or I told him may not have made much difference. I'm sure he would have been very upset regardless of how he found out," I told her, watching as a brief expression of shock came over her face, like she was stunned that I had planned on telling him.

Giving her a little insight into what I knew about him, I continued. "Edward isn't the type of guy who likes to play games, Kelsey. He _is_ a very honest person and expects those around him to be the same way. So you can stop worrying yourself over any guilt you might feel. It's my own fault for not telling him sooner. And as for the answer to the question you and Luke both seem to be dying for…_No._"

"No?" she questioned me. "So the two of you have talked? He's accepted you lied and you're working things out?"

I wanted to laugh in her face as her eyes widened and the look of sheer shock came over her face. For a brief second I thought about lying to her, making her squirm by telling her that Edward and I had talked and were working things out. But that would be a lie and it wasn't worth the risk of it getting back to Edward. I'd never convince him that I was the girl he came to know over the summer if he caught me in another lie. Plus lying wasn't something I normally did and had only done it this summer because I'd felt like it was absolutely necessary, even though technically I hadn't lied because Hale was a part of my last name. No, I wasn't going to start now and stoop to Kelsey's level or at least what I thought was her level. I didn't know her very well, but from what I had seen so far, lying didn't seem to be something she'd think twice about.

So I stuck with the truth.

"No I haven't talked to him. Haven't talked to him at all."

"Well then how can you be so sure?" she asked. This time the excitement filling her voice was real. Only it wasn't for me or my chances of keeping Edward. No, it was for her and her desire to swoop in and steal him from me.

_I had news for her. She was in for the fight of her life._

"Because he hasn't said the words to me, Kelsey. I don't blame him for being upset with me. I'm very upset with myself for the way I've handled things. But until he actually says the words to me and tells me we are over, then in my heart and mind I believe I still have a chance of making things right between us."

_Are you listening to yourself? Time to start believing in your own words and stop waiting for something to happen. Make it happen._

"Of course you shouldn't give up," she said, lying to me easily. I knew as well as she did that was exactly what she wanted me to do.

"I won't. Edward is a great guy and worth fighting for. You can bet that I don't plan on giving up until I am absolutely certain I have no chance left," I stated with the same confidence I had used back in the library. She needed to know that if she wanted Edward, she was in for a battle.

"Perfect," she cooed while narrowing her eyes at me until they were nothing more than little snake like slits. Forcing a barely there smile, she held her hand out to me and proclaimed, "Now, since we have this all cleared up, I say we call a truce? I really am sorry."

"Kelsey, you know I really wish I could believe you," I told her, not making even the slightest move towards taking her hand.

"I promise you can, Bella."

_Yeah right. Maybe when pigs fly._

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure I see things a little differently than you do. See, I know that the truth is you had no idea Edward wasn't already aware of my last name and who my father is. But I don't believe for one second that you have one ounce of sincerity in you when you tell me I should keep fighting for Edward."

"Come on, Bella. You're my friend. Of course I want that for you."

"No, Kelsey, we are _not_ friends. Maybe we could have been. But that ship has sailed. See…" I took a couple of steps closer to her. "Friends don't relish in the fact that their friend's boyfriend may be on the verge of breaking up with her. A friend wouldn't be sitting there waiting for the perfect opportunity to swoop in and steal said boyfriend away. I see right through you, Kelsey. I see that you want Edward for yourself. And you know what?"

"What?" she sneered with a huff.

"I don't blame you. He's an amazing man, and yes I fucked up. I know I've hurt Edward deeply by not being completely honest with him. But I want you to remember this. You may have won the first round, but I intend to win war."

With that said, I turned and walked away from her. I had gotten only a few steps from her when I heard her mutter just loud enough so I could hear it, "Not if I can help it."

I wasn't sure if she meant for me to hear her or not, but the frustration was clear in her voice and made me smile to myself. For a second, I thought about snapping some snide comment back at her, but I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing I had any doubts at all about my chances of winning Edward back, because I had tons of them. But Al was right. It was time to stop sitting around and waiting for something to happen. It was time to do something. Show him how much he meant to me.

I made my way back into the library, ready to get to work on the paper I had to write for my anatomy class.

"You okay?" Sky asked as I sat down.

"Yep," I replied, not really wanting to get into the conversation with Luke now sitting at the same table as Sky and me.

"I'm sorry about my sister, Bella," Luke told me. "She's never been able to take no for an answer. It's one of her biggest faults, but I don't think she meant to be mean or spiteful when she saw you with Edward the other morning."

It was clear that Luke cared for his sister, they were twins after all and because of that shared a deep bond. However, I didn't think he really saw the side of her that I'd seen. Whether it was because he refused to, whether she didn't let him see that side of her, or because he refused to believe his twin could be so manipulative, I didn't know. What I did know was Kelsey wasn't as sweet as he thought she was.

"Look, Luke, I get she's your sister and you love her. I also get that she had no way of knowing Edward didn't know about my last name when she saw us that morning. But I also know that whether it was intended or not, she is very happy to see things broken between us right now. You'd have to be blind not to. She wants Edward for herself."

"You're right," he told me as he started to gather up his things.

"You don't have to go," I said to him. I was worried I'd hurt his feelings by talking about his sister the way I had and that was not my intention. "I wasn't trying to turn you against your sister or be a bitch."

"It's okay, I really have to be going. And for the record, you're not being a bitch, Bella. I know what my sister is like when she wants something. She's been chasing Edward for two years now. I honestly think it's simply because he keeps telling her no. I think if he gave in and dated her, she wouldn't want him anymore. She can be a real spoiled brat."

"That's an understatement," Sky said, jumping into the conversation.

"I…I just…I thought she was done chasing him. I guess she thinks this is some kind of a game or something. I don't know. But I really don't think she means to be mean. She's just used to getting her way. So…"

"It's okay," I replied. I didn't think he had any more control over his sister than the rest of us.

"No it's not," he said. "I just hope that she hasn't hurt our chances of being friends."

I could see the sincerity on his face and hear it in his voice."No, Luke, she hasn't. But I do need to make sure you know that your friend is all I can be right now. I'm not ready to give up on Edward yet."

"I understand," he said. He reached over and placed his hand on mine. I was about to pull it away when he started talking again. "Don't let Cullen string you along forever. If he still wants you and that's what you want too, fine. But don't let him leave you hanging forever, Bella. You don't deserve that."

"I won't."

He removed his hand from mine and got up. After he swung his backpack over his shoulder he took a few steps until he was standing next to me. "Remember you have other options besides, Edward," he said before he leaned over, kissed me on the cheek and then left.

Slumping down in my chair with a loud sigh I looked over at Skylar. "Sky, please tell me you're not encouraging him."

"Nope," she said. I hoped she was being honest with me. I didn't know her well enough to be completely sure yet, but I wanted to believe her.

I attempted to study her face for a few seconds to see if I could tell but she hung her head, causing her hair to block my view.

"Sky?"

"Huh?" she asked without looking up at me.

"Sky, please, _please_ promise me you won't egg him on. I don't want to hurt him. I want things to work out with me and Edward."

"Ok I promise. Starting right now, I won't encourage him anymore." She held my gaze this time when she spoke so I was hopeful that she meant what she'd said.

"Good. Now let's get this paper done. I've got a guy to try and win back," I told her and got up to go find the reference book I needed to use.

***{SIB}***

"Are you sure you don't want to wear your hair up?" Al asked as she pushed the last of what seemed like thousands of hair pins into her up-do. Between all the pins and hair spray she'd used it would take a category five hurricane to take it down.

"I'm sure. We have to keep it tied back all the time for labs at school, so I really want to leave it down. Besides, Sky is going to put some sort of a braid in it when she gets over here."

"Oh that's right. She showed me a picture of it the other day. That will be really pretty. Your hair has gotten so long."

"I know," I told her. "I don't think it's been this long since we were kids."

"I think you're right." She turned around and flashed me a huge smile. "Let's get you into your dress. You're going to knock that boy on his ass tonight, Bell."

She had no idea how badly I hoped she was right. "He has to stay around me long enough to notice first, Al."

"He will. You'll see."

"Yeah I guess we will," I sighed.

After pulling the floor length black dress off the hanger, I stepped into it and held it up while Al zipped it for me.

"Oh, Bell," Al gasped softly as I turned to look in the full length mirror attached to my bathroom door. "It's perfect."

Looking myself over, I knew she was right. The dress was strapless with a pleated, lace covered, fitted bodice that hugged my body until just a couple of inches above my knee, similar to a mermaid style dress. From there it flared out into poof of soft flowing ruffles that draped the floor. I wasn't usually a big fan of getting all dressed up, but tonight…tonight I was almost excited. Extremely nervous and scared as well, but a part of me was excited too.

_I want him to see me._

"Damn, girl. Look at what that dress does for your boobs," Sky hollered, entering my room. "Where you been hiding them at?"

"Just because I don't flaunt them, doesn't mean I don't have them," I said with a laugh.

"I was just telling her how Edward is going to flip when he sees her," Al chimed in.

"He ain't the only one," Sky muttered with a snort.

"Sky," I said in a warning tone to remind her of our talk earlier in the library.

"I know, I know. I promised and I meant it. But that doesn't mean Luke's not going to be looking at you too."

"What happened at the library?" Al asked, glancing back and forth between us for an answer.

I filled her in as Sky ordered me to sit in my desk chair so she could put a loose French braid crown in my hair and then curl the rest of it so it hung in long soft twists down my back.

"Poor Luke," Al sighed after she'd heard the whole story of what went down between Kelsey and myself today, along with the talk between Luke and me. "We really need to find him someone else."

"Why do you say that?" Sky asked.

Walking over to Sky and placing her hand on her shoulder, Al said to her, "Because despite the fact that Luke seems like a great guy, he doesn't stand a chance with Bella. From everything I've heard about Edward, he stole Bell's heart that first day on the airplane and she's never gotten it back. And to be completely honest, I don't think she wants it back."

I couldn't fight the smile that came from her words. Leave it to my best friend to be able to put into words what I couldn't. Sometimes I thought she knew me better than I knew myself.

"How about we go to this shindig and see what happens before I chicken-shit out, loose Edward for good, and have my mother breathing down my neck like a fire breathing dragon," I suggested.

"Yes! Let's!" Al agreed gleefully and clapped in excitement.

***{SIB}***

An hour into the ball, I'd caught several glimpses of Edward—the unique color of his hair made it pretty easy to pinpoint him in the crowd. The man was absolutely stunning beyond words in a tux. Almost better than he had in his swim trunks, but not quite. A couple of the times I'd seen him he'd appeared to be searching the crowd for someone, but as far as I could tell he hadn't seen me at all. Of course I hadn't exactly been out there mingling among the hordes of people who had shown up to this thing.

While Al and Sky were busy helping over at the voting table, I had made a brief appearance at my mother and father's table to appease my mother and show her I was there. I had stayed there long enough to sit through the introductions she'd insisted on making, but had escaped as soon as the opportunity had presented itself.

Deciding to put myself in a better spot for Edward to see me, I started to make my way over to the side of the ballroom where I'd seen him and his family a few times tonight. I was nervous as hell to see him, but I knew if I hid all night I might not ever get the chance. So it was now or never.

I was just about at the last place I'd seen him when I felt a hand tug on my arm stopping me.

"Bella?" A soft feminine voice said my name. It was a voice I'd know anywhere.

Looking into her green eyes that reminded me so much of her son's, I replied, "Esme, hi," hesitantly not knowing what her reaction to me was going to be. "Hello to you too, Carlisle," I added when I noticed him standing next to her.

"Sweetheart, how are you?" Esme asked, surprising me with the sincere concern in her voice. I knew she was a very caring and loving person, but I hadn't expected to find it directed at me right now.

"I'm okay, I guess," I told her just as someone I didn't know came up to her and Carlisle. The man excused himself for interrupting as he began speaking to Carlisle.

I started to excuse myself so they could talk when I felt Esme's hand on my arm again. "Bella, could you wait for a minute please? Carlisle and I would really like to speak with you."

"Um…sure. How about I wait over there near the hall leading to the restrooms?" I told her, pointing to where I meant.

"That would be great," she said with a warm smile. "We won't be long."

***{SIB}***

A short time later I blew out a long cleansing breath while taking a much needed moment for myself in the quiet hallway.

I had just finished having what had turned out to be a bit of an intense conversation with Edward's parents. They had begun the conversation by asking me if I was aware of the email Al had sent Carlisle and if I had put her up to doing it. After informing them that I hadn't been aware of the email until after the fact, I apologized to them for any inconvenience or hassle it, or my situation with Edward, had caused them.

They had accepted my apology and then confirmed my suspicions that Edward had informed them of who my father was with the next question Carlisle had asked me.

"_Bella, can you explain to us why you used a false last name over the summer? Your friend was adamant that you had a very good reason for doing so in her email."_

I had been greatly relieved when they'd accepted my partial explanation.

"_First, please let me just say that I was not there as some political ploy for my father. In fact I don't even support my father and have no intention of voting for him. But he does play a part in why I choose to use only part of my last name. To make a somewhat long story short, I don't support my father at all and I didn't want his political career to interfere with my time in the DR this summer, so I dropped part of my last name when I applied to volunteer with the Red Cross. I went there to help those in need and for no other reason. If you insist I can tell you the hows and whys—the full story now, but I would much rather tell Edward first." _

"_You said you dropped part of your last name. Can you at least explain that to us?" Esme asked next._

"_Yes. My full name is Isabella Marie Hale Swan. I dropped the Swan part to keep from being found out."_

"_Alight," Carlisle said. "We will accept what you've told us so far for now. But you have to know that we do have many more questions for you."_

"_I do and I understand. I just feel like it's only fair to give the full explanation to Edward first."_

"_We understand, sweetheart," Esme said with a warm smile before hugging me tightly. _

I wasn't sure what I had expected their reaction to be, but I had been caught completely off-guard by the total and complete understanding they had shown me. They had assured me that if I said I had a good reason for doing what I had done, then they were willing to trust me and wait until I had been able to give Edward a full explanation about why I'd done it. While I hadn't expected them to respond in the same manner as their son had, they did express their disappointment in me for not trusting them or Edward with the truth, especially with how close Edward and I had become. I completely understood them feeling that way and had told them I was disappointed in myself for the same reasons. Still I hadn't even dared to imagine, hope, or dream for one second that they'd be as totally and completely understanding as they had been.

What shocked me even further than their acceptance of my reasoning and my apology, was the fact that they both seemed to feel that once Edward was given enough time to pull his head out of his ass—Esme's own words—that he'd come to his senses and not only hear me out but want to work on repairing our relationship. They both told me to be patient and give him a little time to deal with being hurt by my failure to confide in him.

Our conversation had ended with them both giving me their phone numbers and telling me not to hesitate in calling them if I needed anything. I smiled remembering the tight hug they had both given me before they left me to enjoy the rest of their evening.

Sadly their understanding and caring reaction also reminded me of just how cold and unfeeling my own parents were.

Heading out to the ballroom to find Al and Sky, I heard my name echoing off the walls of the sparsely decorated hallway.

"Isabella Marie Hale Swan." My mother's voice was hard and cold, sending a prickly chill down my spine.

_What the hell does she want now?_

"Mother," I said out loud and stopped where I was, but didn't turn to face her. I could hear the angry click of her heels on the marble floor as she got closer to me. She caused me to stumble and nearly fall when she jerked on my arm before yanking me backwards down the corridor towards the restrooms. She came to a quick stop when we reached another hall which was adjacent to the restrooms.

"Isabella, I asked you to come to this event to support your father, not consort with the enemy," she sneered.

"The Cullens are not the enemy, Mother," I told her sternly.

"You say that like you know them, Isabella. The Cullens are not people you should be associating with. They're directly related to your father's competition. Or have you completely lost sight of that fact?"

I pulled my arm out of her grasp and took a step back from her. "I know exactly who they are related to, and I do know them, Mother. I can associate with whomever I please," I insisted.

"What do you mean you know them?" she snapped.

"I don't know all of them, but I do know Dr. Cullen, his wife and their son. They are wonderful people, Mother. I met them over the summer and they are kind and caring. Just because someone is on a different side than you, or has a different opinion than you do, doesn't make them bad or unworthy of being liked," I told her, defending Edward and his parents.

"What did you just say?" she asked, her voice now taking on more of a shocked tone than an angry one.

"I said they are wonderful peo—"

"No, not that," she said cutting me off. "The thing about the summer. I swear you just said you met them over the summer, but that would have to be a wild coincidence since you were in Mexico all summer."

Realization of what I'd said hit me and I knew it had instantly shown on my face by my mother's next statement. I was busted.

"Well, well, well, Isabella. I guess Lauren Mallory wasn't imagining things after all when she'd told her mother and me that she hadn't seen you at all in Mexico. She said that she'd seen Mary Alice a few times but was shocked that you hadn't been with her during any of them since the two of you are usually joined at the hip."

"No she wasn't wrong." There was no point in lying now.

"I demand this instant that you tell me where you were. I can't believe you'd betray your father and I like this. And you better be honest with me right now, young lady."

"This really isn't the place for this, Mother."

"I don't care. You had better start explaining right now if you have any hopes of me paying for your schooling next semester," she demanded while pointing her finger in my face.

"Fine, you want to know now. I'll tell you." I took a deep breath and blurted it out. "I was in the Dominican Republic all summer, volunteering with the Red Cross. That's where I met the Cullens."

I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders the moment the words left my mouth. It was likely going to come out sooner or later and if she wanted to chance someone walking by and overhearing our conversation then I'd give her what she wanted. After all, the Cullens were already well aware of where I'd been this summer and anyone else here, other than my friends, didn't matter to me. My mother would be the one to suffer being embarrassed, not me.

"What do you mean you _volunteered_ with the Red Cross?" she asked, spitting the words out, sounding like she really didn't understand what the word volunteered meant.

_That's because she doesn't._

"Exactly what it sounds like. I went there to help the people of the DR rebuild their lives after their homes and towns had been destroyed by a hurricane. I believe in the political world it's known as humanitarian relief, Mother," I shot back at her.

"I told you the other day not to talk to me in that tone." She paused, raising her thumbnail to her mouth and chewing on it as she paced back and forth across the width of the hall a few times before she came to an abrupt halt in front of me. "Now this is what we are going to do. Your little charitable indiscretion might just prove to be beneficial to your father's campaign. First, you are never to associate with _those_ people again. And second, you are going to give a speech at the next town hall meeting your father has about what you've done and how your father inspired you to do it." She started to walk away and must have realized I was not following her because she stopped, pivoted quickly and said, "Come on, we need to inform your father and his campaign manager."

Before she could take another step, I walked up to her and looked her straight in the eye stating one simple word to her. "_No_."

"No?" she asked. "How dare you tell me no."

"That's what I said. _No_. I am _not_ going to give any speech. And you can't tell me who I can and can't associate with. I am eighteen years old, Mother, and just days away from turning nineteen. I am a legal adult capable of deciding for myself who I do and don't want to associate with. The Cullens are wonderful, caring and compassionate people and there is nothing you can do to stop me from feeling that way."

"That's where you are wrong, Isabella."

"No, I am not wrong. I know what kind of people they are," I replied confidently.

"You have until Monday morning to agree to my terms or you can kiss nursing school goodbye," she threatened.

She had pushed me around for the last time. Threatened me for the last time. This was it. No more. It would end right here, right now. I was not going to take her manipulations any longer.

"Make all the threats you want, I won't be changing my mind," I roared back at her, losing my temper. "If I have to get a job or take out loans, it doesn't matter. Even if I have to take a semester off to save up before I can continue, I will. It might take me a while longer, but mark my words, Mother, I will make it through nursing school somehow, someway. It's been my dream for a long time and I refuse to let you crush it."

"Have it your way then, Isabella. You are officially on your own," she said in a hauntingly calm tone, her facial features taking on the appearance of stone, showing no emotion at all whatsoever. "You can keep what's left in your bank account, but you will no longer receive another penny from your father or me and all your credit cards will be canceled. As you put it, you are an adult and because of that I am no longer required to provide for you. If you want to do things the hard way, I am more than happy to let you try. You might be able to scrape your way through, barely getting by, but sooner or later you will long for the lifestyle you're accustomed to, Isabella, and _that's_ when you'll come crawling back."

_She had no clue what kind of lifestyle I wanted. And I vowed to myself right then and there that I'd never go back to her._

"Never."

"Your brave front won't last forever," she quipped and stormed off. She came to a standstill when she was about ten feet away from me and taking long fast strides she made her way back to me, getting so close she had me backed against the wall. "Just remember, Isabella, I too defied my parents and you remember what that got me. I'll look forward to watching you come groveling back, just like I did. You had just better hope when that time comes, that I am as forgiving as my parents were," she hissed.

"I'm well aware of what a mistake I was. How I messed up your life, Renee," I spat back at her not feeling she deserved to be called 'mother' right then. "You've constantly reminded me of how unwanted I was. Never missed an opportunity to throw it at me. So don't pretend now like you actually care what happens to me or that you'd have the heart to forgive me if I asked."

Without a word she turned back around and left.

"Damn it," I shouted, smacking my hand against the wall in frustration as the sound of her heels faded off down the hall. I regretted it immediately as the sting from hitting the wall burned through my skin.

I rested my forehead and both hands against the cool wall to brace myself, while attempting to calm myself down. This night was not turning out at all like I had wanted it to. I had always known this day could come, but I had hoped to have my options better planned out first.

The need to leave rapidly came over me. I couldn't face the possibility of a confrontation with Edward now, not after just having one with my mother. I closed my eyes tightly and sucked in a long breath of air, finally pulling myself together to go in search of Al.

***{Edward}***

My mind was blown—reeling in utter shock like never before. Not only was I having a tremendously hard time comprehending everything that I'd just heard Bella and her mother say to each other, but I was suddenly questioning all the facts, or facts as I thought them to be, surrounding the mess that had been made of my and Bella's relationship.

_She just defended my family to her own mother. Put her whole future on the line for it. What if she really did have a good reason for not telling me her last name? _

Those thoughts and more kept surging through my head until I heard an angry shout coming from Bella. I glanced up just as her small hand smacked against the wall. Seeing the state of distress she was in, my body reacted instantly, moving me towards her. I had to get to her, hold her in my arms and comfort her.

_She needed me._

I had seen her a couple of times earlier tonight and damn she looked fucking gorgeous. She had been a vision straight from one of my dreams when I'd seen her enter the ballroom and my whole body had reacted to her that first time I'd seen her tonight. My fingers had ached to reach out to touch her hair that was hanging down her back in loose waves and her dress clung to her in ways that should be illegal. I'd wanted to grab her and kiss her till she was breathless. My lips still longed to kiss hers and my arms were dying to wrap around her waist and pull her to me, never letting her go again. Even now when I could see how broken she was, I knew she'd still be beautiful to me.

I was surprised that no one else had heard the conversation between the two women. I'd been near the end of the hallway and I'd heard them clearly. They hadn't been yelling, but they hadn't exactly been quiet either.

"Oh my God. There you are, Bella." A blond girl about the same size as my Bright Eyes ran down the other side of the hall, reaching Bella before I could.

I stopped and slid around the corner of the entrance to the restroom and listened to them talk. "I've been looking all over for you. I overheard this bitchy woman talking to some man with a mustache that looked like it belonged on a porn king, and I remembered you saying something once about your father's ridiculous mustache, so I didn't have to listen to them long to figure out who they were and who she was complaining about," the blond said to Bella. I was certain the girl had heard Bella's parents talking about her.

"I need to get out of here, Sky," Bella said, softly to her friend. "I need to find Al so I can get home."

_Al? Who the fuck was Al. Had she come here with a guy tonight? Was she moving on? Did I want that? Fuck no!_

I started walking towards the two of them, needing to talk to Bella immediately. "Hey, bro, where the hell have you been?" Emmett said coming up behind me, preventing me from chasing after Bella.

I didn't answer him. I was unable to take my eyes off of Bella as she continued to get further away from me.

"Ahhh, I see where you've been. Maybe there's hope for you after all now that I see you've been checking out some of the eye candy that's floating around here tonight," he said, noticing where my gaze was focused. "Hot damn, that brunette is smokin'. You get their names? Numbe—"

"That brunette is Bella, you fucker," I said through gritted teeth.

"Damn! No wonder you can't get her out of your head. I tell you what, you decide you're done with her, you can send her my way."

"Over my dead body," I growled, fisting his jacket in my hands and slamming him against the wall so fast I hadn't even had time to think about doing it. It just happened. "Don't even think about it, I'd hate to have to beat the fuck out of you, Emmett."

"Calm the fuck down, man. You really think I'd stab you in the back like that?" he asked, giving me a shove backwards. "See. This is what I mean. What I've been trying to point out to you. You're nowhere near ready to let go of that girl. You can't stand the thought of anyone even looking at her. So when the fuck are you going to pull your head out of your ass and do something about it?"

"Fuck, Em. I'm sorry," I huffed.

"No, problem, I get it. But I tell you what. I wasn't kidding when I said she's smokin' hot. If you don't find a way to hang on to her, she's not going to be free for too long. Girls like that," he said pointing in the direction Bella had gone. "That look as good as she does…she'll have guys from all over that campus lining up to take your place."

"Already does," I grumbled, remembering what Bella had said to her blond friend.

"What do you mean? She got a date tonight? Did you see her with someone?" he asked as he moved away from the wall and smoothed out his tux jacket where I'd messed it up when I'd grabbed him by it.

"I heard her telling that blond girl she was with that she had to find someone named Al so that he could take her home. That she needed to leave. Fuck. What am I going to do, Emmett?"

_I was freaking out in my head, thinking about another guy touching her. She was mine. _

_But what if she's not anymore, an annoying little voice in my head said._

"I say it's time you went and found her, listened to her explanation, and got started on fixing things."

"Here? Now?" I asked.

"No time like the present, buddy," he said with a chuckle as he smacked me on the back.

I nodded, knowing he was right.

We began walking back out to the ballroom. The whole time a nervous ball of energy began growing in the pit of my stomach as I kept telling myself that even if she was here with someone, there still had to be a way to make things right. For me to figure out how to let go of the fact she'd lied to me and work on getting back to how things were before.

I wasn't sure how I was going to do it or what I was going to say. What I did know was, seeing Bella tonight had been even harder than I had ever imagined it would. I knew I missed her, and I had known it was going to be difficult to see her here tonight, especially with our families being on opposite sides of the reason for the event. However I hadn't expected to feel like I was fighting some kind of force of nature by not going to her instantly the moment I'd seen her. I had already begun to think that it was time to find out exactly why she had kept her true identity from me, but after hearing her defend my family as she had and experiencing what felt like pure torture in my need to go to her and comfort her, I knew I couldn't fight what I was feeling any longer. The need to be with her had felt so strong and so right there was no way it could be wrong. I just didn't know if I had the strength to fight it any more. It was time to get the truth.

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**So...thoughts? I can't wait to hear what you all think. **

**Don't forget to pop on over to my blog and check out the pictures of all the girls' dresses. The link can be found on my profile page.  
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**Thanks so much for reading. See ya next time where we will get the rest of what goes down at the ball.  
**

**EA  
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	14. Come Take A Walk With Me

**Good evening, Everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week and you all got the chance to go see **_**Breaking Dawn Part 2**_**. It was the best of them all in my opinion! **

**I apologize for being a total failure in replying to all of your wonderful reviews this time. Real life is a bit of a mess for me right now and trying to balance all that is going on, plus still write, is a challenge at times. But I do want you all to know that I have read every one of them and loved them all. I promise to do my best to reply to them in the future. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. **

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**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. __**Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. _**No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization.**_

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_**September**_** 10, 2011**

***{Edward}***

_I wasn't sure how I was going to do it or what I was going to say. What I did know was, seeing Bella tonight had been even harder than I had ever imagined it would. I knew I missed her, and I had known it was going to be difficult to see her here tonight, especially with our families being on opposite sides of the reason for the event. However I hadn't expected to feel like I was fighting some kind of force of nature by not going to her instantly the moment I'd seen her. I had already begun to think that it was time to find out exactly why she had kept her true identity from me, but after hearing her defend my family as she had and experiencing what felt like pure torture in my need to go to her and comfort her, I knew I couldn't fight what I was feeling any longer. The need to be with her had felt so strong and so right there was no way it could be wrong. I just didn't know if I had the strength to fight it any more. It was time to get the truth._

It hadn't taken Emmett and me more than a couple of minutes to reach the ballroom, but by the time we had, Bella was nowhere in sight.

"Damn it. Where the hell did she go?" I barked, casting a quick glance at Emmett.

"I don't know. But I think we'll stand a better chance of finding her if we split up," he commented as his eyes continued to roam the room for my girl.

"You're right," I told him and started to head off in the opposite direction as him, when I quickly turned back and grabbed hold of his jacket again. "Keep your hands to yourself if you find her," I ordered, hating that I was feeling so insecure with my own best friend. In my head I knew that Emmett would never actually try anything with Bella, but after hearing his comments about her looks and her moving on, along with hearing that she had come here tonight with some guy named Al, I had a jealously like nothing I'd ever experienced before raging through my veins.

"I hear ya," he quipped back before adding, "And I might have deserved that shit you pulled back in the hall a few minutes ago because of what I said. But, dude, I told you it was to get you to wake the fuck up. Best friend or not, you're gonna get a taste of my fist if you keep pulling that attitude with me."

"I'm sorry, Emmett, I just…"

"I get it, man. You got it bad for this chick, and she's got your boxers all bunched up like no chick ever has before. Just remember, I'm Team Edward, so keep your head on straight."

"Thanks, Em."

"No worries. Now we're wasting time. Go!" he ordered, shooing me away with a shove on my shoulder.

It felt like I had been wandering in circles for nearly half an hour when I finally spotted Bella across the room talking to Luke Mathews and the blond girl I had seen her leave with after the argument with her mother.

What happened next had me wanting to charge at him like a bull that had just been released into an arena, ready for a fight. Who the hell did he think he was putting his hands on her? Luke had stepped closer to Bella, smiled down at her, and had then rubbed his hand up and down her back like it was _his_ right, like she was _his_. My hands balled so tightly into fists I could feel my nails digging into the palms of my hands and when I noticed Bella's posture tense up, signaling she definitely didn't like the intimacy of the affection he was bestowing upon her, my vision clouded over with a red haze of anger.

_I needed to get to her now!_

"There you are." I glanced down to find the last person in the world I wanted to see standing in front of me. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

Ignoring her I started to move past her, but she moved too, stopping my efforts to get to Bella.

"Got a second for an old friend? Maybe time for a dance?" she asked.

"Not now, Kelsey."

"Oh, come on. It's just one dance, I don't bite you know," she cooed stepping closer to me. "That is…unless you want me to." She placed her hand on my chest and was toying with the lapel of my tux jacket. "Pretty please," she whined with a pout.

"No," I growled lowly at her as I caught her other hand that was on its way to joining the one that was already on me.

"But—"

"Oh, hey, Edward," Rosalie said, stepping between me and Kelsey, effectively knocking Kelsey back a few steps. "It's time for that dance you promised me."

"I ca—it sure is," I said, preventing myself from declining my cousin's offer. Instead I smiled at her, using her to get away from Kelsey so I could get to Bella.

I spun Rosalie around so I could get us away from Kelsey's evil glare. "Thanks for rescuing me back there," I told her.

"No problem, I was on my way to tell you that your mom and dad are looking for you and as soon as I saw you I could tell you weren't happy. Please tell me that's not the girl you've been going on and on about for weeks now," she pleaded with me.

"Kelsey? Fuck no, that's not her," I replied.

"Thank goodness. I was hoping you had better taste than…well then her. She looks like a real bitch."

"She is."

"So just where is this so-called perfect girl? You brought her as your date, didn't you?"

"No. Things are…" I stopped not knowing what word I wanted to use. I didn't know how to explain what things were between Bella and me right now. I only knew I wanted them to be how they were this summer again.

"I thought I heard Jasper mention something about you and your girl having a major blow out. Anything I can do to help?" she asked and I could see that she really meant that.

"I don't know. I don't know if it's too late. I did something I shouldn't have and now I don't know if I can fix it," I explained letting out a long sigh. "Look," I said bringing us to a halt, "I was about to go and talk to her. I really need to go. Thanks again for the save, but I really need to find her."

I began searching the room again, wanting to kick myself for losing sight of her, when I saw she wasn't where she'd been when Kelsey had interrupted me from going to her before.

"Damn," I muttered. "She's gone again."

"Who?" Rosalie asked.

"Bella. I was on my way to her when Kelsey interrupted me and now she's gone."

"Shit, Edward, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you from going to her," my cousin apologized.

"No, trust me it's okay. You came along at the perfect time. I'm just going to have to find her again. I wish I knew if Emmett had, had any luck finding her." I sighed in frustration. "I have to go find her, Rose. Raincheck?"

"Sure. Who's Emmett?"

"My best friend. He was helping me look for Bella."

"Okay, so tell me what they both look like and I'll help too."

"Really?"

"Of course," she replied.

We kept dancing, making our way over to the side of the dance floor as I gave her Emmett and Bella's descriptions. As we neared the edge of the dance floor someone rudely bumped into the back of me. I let go of my cousin, ready to go off on the oaf that had either not been watching where he was going or shouldn't have been on the dance floor in the first place, when I was completely caught off guard when I saw who it was.

"Hello there, beautiful," Emmett said smoothly, looking over his shoulder and back at us as he flashed a beaming smile at Rosalie.

"What the hell, Emmett?"

Instead of responding to me he quickly turned around allowing me to see who he was dancing with. "Looks like we need to trade dancing partners, buddy," he said. The smile on his face grew even wider as he released Bella, giving her a shove towards me and pulled Rosalie away from me without giving any of us any time to react or protest.

Catching Bella as she stumbled into my arms from the force of the shove Emmett had given her, I briefly glanced up at Rosalie. _ Sorry, Cuz, _I thought as Rosalie shot me a 'what the fuck just happened' look as my best friend continued to pull her out on the dance floor. My attention was instantly brought back to the girl in my arms as I felt her push against my chest like she wanted to get away.

"I'm sorry. I'll just leave now," she whispered and tried to push away from me again.

I tightened my hold on her. I was not letting her get away without at least getting her to agree to talk to me. If not tonight, then soon. "Bright Eyes," I replied softly, "What are you sorry for?"

"Your friend, he…he said you were looking for me and wanted to talk to me. But…" She closed her eyes and I was certain I felt her tremble slightly. Taking a deep breath, without looking up at me, she quickly added, "Clearly he was wrong."

"No he wasn't," I replied instantly.

"But…" she paused, looking out onto the dance floor in the direction Emmett and Rosalie had gone.

"But what?" I asked.

"I saw you dancing with that girl. You looked…happy. The two of you make a great couple. I get it, you've moved on."

This time she was successful in pushing away from me, but I was able to lunge after her and catch her hand before she got too far away. "I haven't moved on, Bella." I took a step closer to her, closing the distance between us and held her hand more firmly.

"But," she said again.

"But nothing. It's not what you think. Dance with me. _Please_."

I held my other hand out to her and waited for her answer.

Silently she nodded and placed her hand in mine.

After only a few moments, I couldn't take having her so close and not completely in my arms. I slid my hand resting on her hip all the way around her while pulling her closer to me until there wasn't any space between us and our clasped hands rested on my chest. I wasn't sure what her reaction would be, but I was very grateful when she didn't resist or react in any way that would indicate I was making her uncomfortable.

It felt amazing to have her in my arms again. It felt as if there had been a giant band around my chest, restricting my ability to breathe and now it was gone and I could inhale fully with ease again.

I wondered if it had been the same for her when she took in a long pull of air and released it with a soft sigh and rested her head on my chest. My eyes roamed over every inch of her that I could see. One of the first things I noticed was how truly long her hair was. Some of the longest ends were trapped beneath my arm that was around her waist. In the DR she'd had it up in a ponytail or what she called a messy bun and even at night left it in a braid when we slept due to how hot it was.

The next thing that caught my attention was that she still smelled of the coconut shampoo and body wash she had used over the summer. The scent brought back the memory of that first night when she'd slipped in the shower. It was a night I'd never forget. Unable to resist I leaned my head down and buried my face in the side of her hair, inhaling her scent like it was all I needed to survive on.

We stayed that way through the rest of the song and the beginning of the next one. But when the second song came to an end and neither of us had said anything, I decided that I was going to make the first move and apologize to her, thinking it would be a good starting point to move us towards the talk we needed to have.

"I'm sorry. I've been such an ass, Bright Eyes," I murmured next to her ear and waited for her response.

She sighed and then gazed up at me. There was a mixture of emotions shining in her eyes—relief, happiness and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. But as I gazed at her a bit longer I was fairly sure it was fire. There was a spark of fire there as if something I'd said had irked her. I had seen that spark in her eyes before and found myself worrying that she wasn't going to accept my apology.

With a slight edge in her voice and an expression to match, she said, "Yes you have been an ass. It's taken you long enough to figure that out."

There she was. There was that snarky, outspoken, brave brunette I'd met on the plane back in June. Only this time, I wasn't sure she was being sarcastic just to get a rise out of me like she'd done back then.

_What if I've waited too long? Hurt her too much? _

_But she's the one who lied._

_Talk to her, not yourself, you idiot, before it's too late._

"You're right. It has taken me a while and I am sorry for that, Bella. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am," I said spinning her around and trying to lead her across the dance floor into a more private area.

"Just what is it you're sorry for, Edward?" she asked, her voice still carrying the edge it had before. "Are you sorry you walked away without even giving me the chance to explain? Are you sorry you've had your head stuck up your ass these past few weeks or is it that you're sorry I saw you dancing with that pretty brunette your buddy made off with when as far as I'm concerned we're not even officially broken up? Tell me which is it, Edward."

We came to a standstill near the doorway that led out to the main entrance of the building.

"I'm sorry for everything. Don't you believe me?" I asked trying to figure out what else I could say to her now to get her to listen to me. "And for the record, I don't consider us broken up either."

"You have a funny way of showing it," she whisper-yelled at me. Bella jerked herself out of my embrace and walked out the door into the front lobby area of the hall where she paced back and forth across the width of the area once before she stopped, crossed her arms over her chest and released a loud huff.

"Bright Eyes," I called to her as I walked over to her, gripping her arms gently, causing her to glare at me.

_Fuck maybe I was too late. Maybe I'd really fucked things up much worse than I'd imagined. How the hell did this go from her being in my arms one second to her shooting daggers at me out her eyes the next?_

I pleaded with her to tell me what she needed to hear from me. What it would take to make things right with her. "_Please_, Bella. I meant it when I said I was sorry. What more do you want me to say?"

She closed her eyes for a second and then looked back up at me. "You still haven't answered my first question," she quipped.

"If you mean, what am I sorry for, I told you everything," I replied, while looking in her eyes, hoping that she'd see I was being completely honest with her.

"What's everything? That's what I mean. I need you to be more specific, just what does _everything_ mean?"

Dropping my hands to my sides, I took a step back to gather my thoughts. I ran my hands through my hair a few times and then began. "Everything means just that. I'm sorry I walked away, sorry I hurt you and so very sorry it's taken me so long to tell you how sorry I am."

She nodded, before responding, "Why now? What's changed? It's been three weeks. Three weeks since you left me standing there with my heart ripped out of my chest. Three weeks that I've heard nothing. Not. One. Fucking. Word. So what happened to make you want to apologize now?" she asked, in a voice so emotional it had wavered a few times despite the hard exterior shell she was trying to keep in place.

I moved closer to her again and raised my hand to cup her cheek. Her eyes closed and leaned into my touch. Even if her words were not giving me any clues as to the way she felt, her body was giving them loud and clear. It gave me hope.

"Bella," I said softly, raising my other hand to her face and gently lifting it so her gaze would meet mine when she opened her eyes. A moment later when she did, I continued. "I know I've been a jerk, but it doesn't mean that I haven't missed you. That I haven't been hurt and upset too. But I was really confused too. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out why you would keep such a thing from me."

"I would have told you if you'd have let me. I understand I hurt you, Edward. I know I should have told you long before you found out. I was wrong and I know that. But what you did…the way you just left me standing there…" She stopped when a shiver shook her small frame. She then sucked in a deep breath and blew it back out. "That hurt me more than anything ever has in my entire life. All you had to do was to just agree to hear me out. That's all I wanted. All I asked you for."

"Again, I can't even explain how sorry I am."

"Try," she requested.

"Come take a walk with me," I said as I nodded my head in the direction of a bench that was at the other end of the lobby where we could sit and have some privacy. I then held my hand out for her to take. Once our hands were linked, I led her to the bench.

Once we reached it we both sat down. Not wanting to let her go, I kept her hand in mine. "Will you listen to what I have to say? I know I don't deserve it, but I am asking if you will."

"Yes," she answered without hesitation. I loved and hated it all at the same time. I was happy that she was willing to listen to what I had to say, but at the same time, I hated that I hadn't given her that same chance a few weeks ago.

I stared down at our joined hands for a few moments as I put together what I wanted to say. When I had my thoughts in some sort of order, I began. "I regretted walking away from you almost immediately. I was also angry with you and because of that I had already said some things that I shouldn't have. I was torn. I saw you standing out there crying and I wanted to run back down to you and hold you, tell you everything would be okay. But there was another part of me that was so angry with you for keeping who you really were from me. As I sat in my class you were all I could think about. I kept going back and forth in my head and didn't know what to do, so foolishly I did nothing.

"I didn't see how wrong it was then, but I do now. You've been in my thoughts constantly over the last three weeks. Like I said before, you're all I've been able to think about. At times I couldn't eat, sleep or even concentrate long enough to do my school work."

She opened her mouth like she was about to say something in protest about what I'd just said, but I held my hand up, silently asking her to stop and finish hearing me out. Again I knew I didn't deserve her patience, but I was grateful for it.

"I'm not telling you these things to make you feel sorry for me, Bella. My only reason for telling you is so that you know that I didn't simply go on as if nothing had ever happened between us. I didn't suddenly act as if you never existed. That would be impossible for me to do. It's taken me all this time, but I have finally come to the realization about how stupid I've been. I was stupid and I let my anger cloud my actions until my best friend and my parents forced me to see some things that I wasn't. When I came here tonight I was already well aware of the fact that I needed to talk to you. And when I saw you tonight, just how badly I've been missing you hit me so hard I couldn't see straight. Seeing you looking so incredibly gorgeous…you've always been beautiful to me, but tonight…tonight you blew me away."

"Thanks, you look pretty good yourself," she whispered and I noticed a slight blush coloring her complexion.

I'd missed seeing that reaction in her.

"Then Emmett saw you and commented on how hot he thought you were. It was right after I'd heard you fighting with your mom and had heard your friend say, 'Al was looking for you'. Bella…you don't know this about me, but I have _never_ been a jealous person before tonight. Hearing someone say how attractive they thought you were and knowing you came here tonight with another guy…well let's just say what everyone has been telling me for days now finally hit me."

"And what's that?" she asked curiously.

"That if I waited too long, I was going to lose you. I don't want that and so I knew it had to be now. I couldn't wait any longer to talk to you. Tell me I'm not too late."

Her eyes bore into mine. They were so full of emotion and were beginning to glisten with her unshed tears.

"You're n—wait," she said, pursing her lips. At first I thought she was going to tell me what I had been hoping to hear, which was that I wasn't too late. However when she stopped and asked me to wait, I had no idea what she was going to say to me. I could see by the confused expression that had come over her face that she had a million thoughts running through her mind. "You heard me arguing with my mother?" she asked.

"I did and I was coming to talk to you right then, but your friend arrived and then Emmett did also and by the time I'd gotten over what he'd said about you, you were gone." I replied and nodded at the same time. "I had no idea. I mean, my God, Bella, I don't even know where to begin—how to even process the fact that you'd risk everything in defense of my family. The things I said to you when you admitted you were Charles Swan's daughter. I…"

I shook my head back and forth, still utterly shocked by what I'd overheard between her and her mother. Was my telling her I was sorry even close to being enough for the things I'd accused her of? Would she ever be able to forgive me?

***{BELLA}***

I had so many thoughts, so many emotions running through me that I had no idea what to think or feel. No idea how to even begin to pick which one to deal with first, or what to say to Edward.

I had been caught completely by surprise when this big, hulk-like guy had come up to me, telling me that he was a close friend of Edward's and that Edward was looking for me. I had been so ready to leave the ball and go home that I almost told him that. But hearing that Edward was looking for me sparked the glimmer of hope that maybe this night could turn out better than how it had gone so far. He was the biggest reason I'd come here tonight and even though I'd been prepared to leave, I knew I couldn't walk away from this chance to see him. Although the second I'd seen him dancing with the gorgeous brunette, I'd found myself wishing I had gone ahead and left and I had tried to do just that, until Edward had stopped me.

Being in his arms again had felt indescribable. It would be very easy to get lost in that feeling right now as he sat beside me holding my hand. His touch caused that same reaction in me, it always had—my heart fluttered and my insides felt like a bowl of jelly. However something was nagging at me not to give into it yet. We still had so much to talk about.

I began going back over everything he'd said to me. I could sympathize to a certain degree with how he'd felt confused over what to do and so had done nothing. I had done pretty much the same thing when it had come to me telling him about my father. I had felt damned if I did and damned if I didn't. I could have told him and risked him walking away from me back then or being in the exact situation we were in now. I had taken the risk that because of the feelings that were developing between us that he'd forgive me when I got around to telling him, and because of the risk of it getting out about who I was, and it being used as a political ploy for my father. I had planned on telling him the first chance I got, but unfortunately Kelsey had happened.

My choosing to wait had blown up in my face, but even when it had I had never expected him to not hear me out on why, and in the long run that was what hurt me the most. I also had never expected to find him dancing with someone else after his friend had practically begged me to dance with him until we could find Edward. That had been like someone twisting the knife that had already been driven through my heart. Yet it occurred to me that as he sat here pleading with me to forgive him, he hadn't even asked me why I had hid who I was. It almost felt as if there was more to his apology. Had he done something? Just who was this chick he had been dancing with? I needed to find this out before anymore was said.

"Bella," he said, his thumb caressing the top of my hand. "You're being awfully quiet over there. What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

"I have tons of things running through my head. I don't know where to begin, really."

"Well what's going through your head right now? Just pick something, anything, and we'll start there," he offered.

"I guess I'm just really confused by some of the things you've said." As much as I wanted answers, a part of me was afraid of what they might be.

"What things?" he asked quickly, seeming eager to explain whatever it was I was confused by.

"I came here tonight, hoping to see you and hoping that you'd finally listen to me as to why I hid my last name from you. And even though I had hopes that it would make a difference in how you felt about being with me, more than anything I just wanted you to know the truth. But I still don't quite understand why you haven't made any move to find out before now. Don't get me wrong. I can understand how being torn over what to do led you to do nothing. I had similar feelings over not telling you while we were still in the DR. There is more to it than that, but the fear over how you'd react played a huge part in it. So in the end I waited.

"For what it's worth, I had planned on telling you at the first opportunity I was given. Maybe that matters, maybe it doesn't. I don't know. But what I do know is it's really hard to balance what you've told me about how much you missed me and how dysfunctional it made you, with how I saw you acting tonight. You looked pretty cozy and content to me."

"What are you talking about? When did I look cozy and content?" he asked, no doubt wondering what the hell I was talking about.

"Do you not remember what you were doing when your friend so conveniently bumped into you on the dance floor tonight? You seemed pretty content with the brunette, Edward. Is that why you keep saying you are sorry? Is she the real reason I haven't heard from you in the last three weeks?" I asked him, trying hard not to sound like I was accusing him of anything, but he had appeared to be rather comfortable with her.

"I told you, Bella. That wasn't anything, it doesn't mean anything," he said defensively.

"Really?" I asked popping up off the bench, jerking my hand out of his in the process. I missed his touch instantly. "You seemed rather comfortable with her, completely at ease, and her with you. Just be honest with me, Edward. I can take it if you've moved on. But you could have at least had the decency to end things between us first. Or maybe that was what you intended when you walked away. Maybe that's why I haven't heard from you. That's part of why I am so confused. You are telling me one thing, but your actions over the last three weeks don't back it up."

"You are totally making this way more complicated than it has to be," he told me, standing and trying to reach out and grab my hand again, but I pulled it back before he could. The connection between us might still be there for me, but it wasn't going to do me any good if it wasn't for him.

"Then simplify it for me."

"There is nothing going on between me and her, not could there ever be. I told you it's not what you think. Why can't you believe that?"

"Because it didn't appear that way to me."

"You want to talk about appearances? You're the one that came here with another guy tonight. How do you think that appears to me?"

"Another guy? I came here with my best friend and my roommate."

"Bella, I heard you. I heard you tell your blond friend that you needed to find him so you could go home," he claimed. "Al, I think is the name I heard."

"Al is my best friend and definitely not my date."

"So you want me to believe that this Al person is _just_ your best friend, but yet still accuse me of doing something wrong? How is that fair, Bella?"

"Beca—"

"Because I _am_ her best friend," chimed Al, as she came walking down the hall. I was extremely grateful to see her until I noticed that not only was Sky with her, but the bombshell that Edward had been dancing with was with them too.

Marching right up to Edward, Al held her hand out with a wide smile on her face. "You must be, Edward," she said introducing herself. "I'm Mary Alice, but only my parents call me that. You can call me Alice, Allie or what Bell calls me, _Al_."

The look on Edward's face was priceless as the last nickname Al had given for herself sank in.

"Edward Cullen," he replied and shook her hand. He had a slight tinge of pink coloring his cheeks.

"Now, not that I mind being the center of attention, but surely the two of you have much more important things to talk about then little ole me," Al said. She was looking back and forth between the two of us, waiting for an answer.

"I was just telling Edward that I came here with you and Sky tonight. Not some guy."

Edward quickly jumped in and said, "Yeah well I've never heard of a girl named Al before."

"So wait," Al ordered. "He thought I was a guy?"

"Yes," I replied. "And I guess I can see how he might have thought that. But he still hasn't told me why he looked all cozy dancing with her." I motioned my hand at the brunette who had remained quiet so far.

"You two were dancing together?" Al asked wagging her finger back and forth between them. But after a second her eyes suddenly went wide and she looked horror stricken. "Oh my God, Rose. Please tell me Edward here isn't the guy you were just swooning over to me and Skylar."

"Nothing going on my ass," I growled and started to storm off.

"Wait. Bella," Edward called after me.

"Why?" I asked spinning back around to face him.

"Because I'm the big dummy's cousin, I can't believe he didn't just say who I was," the girl who Al had called Rose said walking over to me, rolling her eyes at Edward as she moved past him. "Rosalie Cullen," she added holding her hand out to me with a friendly but slightly sarcastic smirk on her face. "I don't know what is wrong with guys these days. They have to make things so damn difficult. But yes, Edward is my cousin. He was telling me about you while we were dancing. How he was trying to find you. And I was just about to help him look for you when you and his friend bumped into us."

"Really?" I asked trying not to sound too optimistic, even though I was cheering on the inside.

"Really," she replied sincerely before she looked over her shoulder at Edward and said, "If what I've heard from Alice is true, that's all the help you get from me, cuz. It's all your mess to fix now."

"Thanks," he told her before stepping closer to me. "Looks like we both jumped to the wrong conclusion," Edward said, his eyes pleading with me to forgive him.

"Yeah, I guess we did," I said softly.

"Oh there you girls are." I looked behind me to see Mrs. Brandon coming towards us. "The limo is ready to leave. We need to be going now, girls."

"We'll be right there, Mom," Al told her. Mrs. Brandon nodded and headed back the way she had come from. "You want us to wait for you?" Al asked after her mother had gotten out of hearing range.

"No, go ahead. I'll be right there."

"Okay," she said, giving me a quick hug and leaving with the other two girls.

"Um…I should be going now," I told him reluctantly. We hadn't really solved anything tonight, besides learning that we were both easily made to feel jealous at the thought of the other one being with someone else.

_That had to mean something. Right? _ I asked myself.

I stood there for what felt like hours but in reality must have only been a few moments, waiting to see if he was just going to say goodbye to me, ask to see me again, ask for my phone number, anything. I needed him to give me some sort of sign that this wasn't it. That he wasn't just going to let me walk away and leave things hanging between us again. However, when Edward didn't say anything, I turned to walk away, still having no idea where things stood between us. But as I did I was silently praying that he'd stop me, that maybe seeing me about to leave him standing there as he'd done me would kick his ass into gear.

"Bella, wait," he called again. Relief seeped through me, allowing me to let out the breath of air I was holding to keep my emotions at bay. He was instantly next to me, taking hold of my hand. I raised my gaze to meet his, waiting for whatever it was he was going to say next. "Meet me somewhere."

"When? Where?" I asked.

"I don't know. Anywhere, anytime. Pick someplace you know. I don't care where. All I care about is us getting to finish our talk."

"I have a ton of homework to do tomorrow and on Monday I have class until three. After that I have to go to the Student Services office and see if there are any openings in the work study program and then get to my hour long lab at four. I could meet up with you after that. What time were you thinking?"

"How about around five-thirty?"

"Okay, where?"

"I said it's your pick, so where would you like to go?"

"I'm not really sure what's close to campus. You have any suggestions?"

"It doesn't have to be right near campus if there is some place you'd prefer, some place you'd be more comfortable," he offered.

"Well with the time crunch I am going to have, close to campus would be best I think. So really, it's okay, you pick."

Without thinking, I caught myself giving him a pouty look to get my way.

"Not fair," he said with a teasing grin.

"What?" I asked, loving that for just this one moment we could still have the playfulness that we'd shared all summer.

"Fine," he sighed, faking aggravation, but I could see the edges of his lips wanting to turn up. I couldn't stop the wide smile that spread across my face. "You know the pizza place near campus on Broadway?" he then asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"If that works for you then I can be there at five-thirty."

"That should work for me. If I don't know where it is, I'm sure Al does."

"Sounds good. I'll see you then," he declared while immediately pulling me to him, wrapping his other arm around me and pressing his lips to my forehead.

Without thinking about it my hand grabbed on to the lapel of his tux jacket and fisted around the material, holding on to him and not wanting to let go. As he slowly removed his lips from my forehead, on instinct, my head slid under his chin and rested against his chest. I let out a contented sigh, knowing I was where I really wanted to be—in Edward's arms. Upon inhaling again his scent hit me hard. It reminded me of all those nights I had slept in his arms in our tent. I didn't know how I was supposed to let go and walk away from him tonight.

That is until I heard Al and Sky coming to look for me and Sky's voice drifting down the corridor. "She said she'd only be a minute."

"There she—" I heard Al say along with the sound of their heels clicking on the hard floor coming to a sudden stop and then beginning again going in the opposite direction

Digging deep inside for the strength to leave him, I looked up and placed a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw. "I'm going to have to go. I don't want to have Al's mom come looking for me again."

"I know," he said in a somber tone. "Until Monday, Bella." He kissed me again, this time on my cheek.

"Monday," I replied softly. Reluctantly I released my hold on his jacket and pushed myself away from him. As I slowly walked away, for the first time in three weeks I had some real hope that maybe it wasn't too late for us.

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**Okay, so…before you all start a major witch hunt for me, I promise—swear to all of you—that their talk is in the next chapter. Finally Stretch will find out exactly why his Bright Eyes didn't tell him what her real last name was and why she used a different one in the first place. **

**I can't wait to hear what all of you think. **

**See ya next time, **

**EA**


	15. On The Waiting List

**Merry Christmas, Everyone! Yes I know it's been far too long since I last updated and I know I was naughty and didn't reply to all of your wonderful reviews. But I promise that I read them all and loved each of them. As for the time line…real life has thrown some nasty curve balls at me and all I can say is that I am sorry and I promise I am getting the chapters to you as fast as I can. Hopefully the chapter makes up for the wait time. **

**Thank you to My-Bella and Hope4More for all you do to help me get these chapters to you. I'd send you Rob and Gilles for Christmas if I could!**

******Thank you to NoelleSeven for the pics of Edward and Bella in their scrubs. **

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**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. __**Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. _**No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization.**_

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**September 13, 2011**

***{Bella}*  
**

All the next day and so far today, I was a nervous mess. I'd only been able to set it aside for a short time yesterday when Al and Sky had surprised me with a birthday cake and presents to celebrate me turning nineteen today. The distraction may have been short lived, but for the couple of hours they had entertained me I had thoroughly enjoyed their company. We'd had a great time chatting as we ate some cake and I loved the gifts they had gotten me.

Al had given me a new outfit and a gift certificate for a day at her favorite spa. And when Al gave you a new outfit she included everything—the whole outfit, shoes, or in this case boots, and a purse too. Sky had given me a cute t-shirt with the saying, 'Be Nice... Nurses call the Shots' on it, which I would be changing into after my lab class today since we were required to wear scrubs on lab days.

I was never more grateful than today that Sky and I had most all of the same classes. I was unable to concentrate on anything other than seeing Edward this evening. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be retaining anything that was being taught by any of my teachers today and that the information was just flying right through my head like I had no brain at all. Thankfully I would be able to get any notes or assignment information I missed from Sky.

As the day wore on, my ability to even sit still became a challenge. I was constantly fidgeting in my seat, tapping my pen on my desk, chewing on my pen cap or checking the time on my watch, my phone or the clock on the wall to see if one of them would tell me the time was moving faster than it felt. Despite my attempts to will the hands of time to move more quickly, it continued to tick by at a painstakingly slow pace and trying to focus on my lab class became near impossible.

"Here, let me do it," Sky whispered, holding her hand out for the glass slide I held in my shaking hand. I was having trouble placing it in the right spot under the microscope due to my state of nervousness.

"Thanks," I muttered softly, setting the small rectangle of glass into her hand.

"Don't worry. I've got you covered today," she assured me. "I know you've got your mind on other things."

I only had a half hour left to get through but it seemed like years at this point. I was hopeful that things would go well with Edward this evening, but a part of me was still scared it could all still fall apart. The way that he'd held me, and the energy I still felt flowing between us when we were close to each other, along with the way it still magnified when we touched, gave me cause to believe it would all work out. I was also hopeful that him having overheard the argument between my mother and I would help as well. However knowing how important honesty was to him, there was this voice in my head that kept asking if all of that would be enough for him to be able to move past my so-called lie.

By the time I'd changed and left with Alice to be dropped off at the pizza place Edward had asked me to meet him at, I was ready to come unraveled by my nerves until Alice started chattering non-stop about the guy she had met Saturday night at the ball.

"He's so handsome, Bell. I have never seen a man so gorgeous in all my life. His eyes are so beautiful and I love the way he has this small amount of facial hair framing his mouth and jaw. It's so damn sexy," she squealed. "And his smile…Oh my God, Bell, his smile just about killed me. I felt like I was floating on a cloud when he danced with me," she said, following it with a wistful sigh.

I glanced at her and giggled at the star-struck, dreamy look she had on her face.

Curious about this guy that had seemingly swept my best friend off her feet, I asked, "Oh really?" She nodded rapidly with an ear splitting, toothy smile on her face. "Does this Prince Charming have a name? And why didn't you tell me about him yesterday?"

"He does and I wanted to make sure he called me like he said he would before I started gushing about him. I wasn't sure if he was as taken with me as I was him, but I am fairly certain he is now since he asked me to go out with him this weekend. Plus I just didn't feel right blabbing about all my happiness when I know you are still hurting."

"Hey," I said to her when she came to a stop in front of the pizza place. "You know you don't ever have to hide your happiness from me. I am thrilled for you whether or not things work out between me and Edward."

"I know, but there's one more little thing I need to tell you about him." The serious look on her face and tone in her voice had me concerned now.

"Unless you are going to tell me it's Edward, which I am nearly one hundred percent sure you're not, then I don't know what you could possibly tell me about him that has you so worried. So spill it."

"Well what if I said he was Rose's brother and Edward's cousin?"

I took a second to process what she'd said and while I was surprised by her admission, I'd never hold it against her. "Then I'd tell you I'm happy for you."

"I just didn't want you to feel weird or whatever on the off chance things don't work out between you and Edward even though I know they are going to. I didn't want you to feel like you couldn't be around me if Jasper was with me if that were the case. But like I said I know things will work out." She had rambled the words out so fast I was lucky to have caught all of what she'd said. Good thing I was used to it.

"That will never ever, _ever _happen," I promised her.

"You're the best, Bell," she said leaning over and giving me a hug. Sitting back up she ordered, "Now go in there and get your guy back."

"Here goes nothing. Wish me luck," I mumbled as I got out of her Barbie-pink Volkswagen Beetle her parents had given her for graduation.

She could have had just about any car in the world—they'd have gotten her a Barbie-pink Porsche if she had asked for it. However she had asked for a Beetle and she'd gotten one. It was just another way in which her parents were so great. I wouldn't go so far to say that she was spoiled, but her parents actually listened to what she wanted and cared enough to give it to her if they felt the situation warranted it.

"Good luck, Bell. It will all work out. I just know it," she told me confidently. "Call me if you need me to come get you."

I nodded and shut the door to her car.

Turning to face the pizza place, I sucked in a long breath of air and blew it back out before taking my first step towards the door. Walking in, I spotted Edward immediately sitting in a booth that was in a corner directly across from the door.

"Hi," he said, giving me a slightly one-sided, soft smile as I placed my backpack down on the bench across from him and sat down in the booth. I'd thought about sitting next to him, and honestly that's where I would have loved to be, but I thought this way we would be able to see each other better as we talked.

"Hi," I returned, forcing down the nerves still gnawing at me.

"You hungry? Thirsty?" he asked.

"Um…sure."

He waved his hand and motioned for a waitress to come over to us. I instantly recognized her as Angela, the RA for my dorm building.

"Oh hey, Bella," she said with a smile while pulling her order pad out of the pocket of her apron. "What can I get for you guys?"

"I'll have a Mountain Dew and…" I looked over to Edward and asked, "What do you like on your pizza?"

"Anything but anchovies," he replied to me before telling Angela he'd have a Dr. Pepper to drink. Turning his attention back to me he then asked, "What about you?"

"Oh, no anchovies for me and no black olives or mushrooms either. Otherwise I'm good with anything else."

"Okay then," Edward said looking up to Angela. "How about a large deluxe loaded with everything except anchovies, mushrooms and black olives."

"You got it. I'll be right back with your drinks," she said and left.

"You know her?" he asked after she dropped off our drinks.

"Angela?" I asked before taking a sip of my soda.

He nodded while taking a drink of his too.

"Yeah she's the RA in my residence hall."

"Which hall would that be?" He had a cross between a hopeful yet hesitant look on his face like he wasn't sure whether or not I'd tell him, making me see I wasn't the only one nervous about the talk we were about to have.

"Meyer. I'm in Meyer Hall on the fourth floor."

"I did the dorm thing my freshman year, but didn't care for it much. I guess I just like my own room at home better. Besides it's close enough that I really don't need to be in the dorms."

"I remember you telling me that over the summer. I live close enough too, but no way was I staying at home," I told him.

"Yeah, I…uh…can't imagine you'd want to after what I heard the other night. Bella, I'm still stunned by what I heard…I just don't understand how a mother could say those things to her own child. I'm so sorry," he said softly but sincerely, gazing over at me as he raised his glass for another drink of soda.

"I'm not gonna lie and say it didn't hurt," I said, seeing him stiffen just slightly when I'd said the word 'lie'. "But it's also not anything I'm not used to hearing from her."

"Doesn't make it right," he stated, reaching over and taking my hand in his.

"Nope. But that's my mom. She only worries about what makes her happy."

Edward sighed and shook his head back and forth. "So…" he said just as Angela appeared with our pizza. He continued once she turned to walk away. "Along with several things my parents have pointed out to me and after what I heard the other night, I can see how wrong I was to accuse you of not telling me who you really were as some sort of political scheme to help your father. I'm truly sorry for that. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for that. But, Bella, I still don't understand why you couldn't tell me. Why you _wouldn't_ tell me…trust _me_ enough." The tone in his voice wasn't harsh, but it wasn't that smooth velvety sound that had always melted my insides either. It was much crisper and very direct, as was the expression on his face.

He certainly wasn't wasting any time getting to the reason we were there. Not that I could blame him. We both needed to get through this so we could either fix things or let go and move on. I watched as he appeared to be waiting for me to begin while taking a huge bite out of his slice of pizza.

I picked at the piece on my plate. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to eat after all, but I did manage a couple pieces of the pepperoni off it before I started to talk. "First let me start by saying that I wanted to tell you. I wanted very much to tell you and I nearly did the night I told you I lived here in Baltimore. But I got scared."

"Scared? Why?" He seemed very surprised by my admission. I guess the snarky girl he'd met on the airplane might have given off the appearance that nothing scared her, but that was very far from the truth. Up until that point my worst fear had been the possibility of my parents finding out where I was going. But that paled tremendously to the idea of Edward never wanting anything to do with me again.

"Well let me backtrack a little and tell you that I didn't really lie about my last name. I only edited it a bit and didn't use the whole thing. My full name is Isabella Marie Hale Swan."

"Okay, but why?" he replied, waiting for me to explain more.

I took a bite of my pizza, chewing it slowly as I contemplated the best way to tell him everything.

"As I told you over the summer I've never felt like I fit in with my parents. I've never really felt like I belonged in their world. When my mother was my age, she took off across the country to Washington State and went to college there. She wanted to get as far away from her parents as she could."

"Is that what she was talking about the other night when she said she defied her parents too?"

"Yes. They wanted her to stay here and become the prim and proper debutant like my mother was trying to mold me into. My grandfather had a husband picked out for her and was planning her life for her in order to help his own agendas along. But she refused and took off. While she was in college she met my father who was from a very small town on the Northwest peninsula. He was only able to attend college because of the football scholarship he'd received. From what she's told me they were blissfully happy and planning to marry once they graduated and were counting on my father being drafted into the NFL."

"I'm guessing that didn't happen."

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"He sustained a severe injury to his knee and was never able to play again after that."

"Ahh. So what happened after that?" he inquired.

"Well then they were hit with a series of events that led my mother to calling her father and begging him to help them. First since my father was unable to play football any longer he was told that after that year he'd no longer receive his scholarship. That was a death sentence to his college education. Then my mom found out she was pregnant with me.

"My dad told her he loved her and that he'd find a way to provide for her and their baby. So they came up with the plan for my mother to quit school as well at the end of the semester and they'd move back to his hometown where he was sure his parents would help in any way they could and he'd find a job to take care of them.

"So that's what they did. But then things didn't work out as they had hoped. My dad wasn't able to find a job that paid enough for them to get by on and my mom, having never worked a day in her life, couldn't hack the waitressing job she had taken."

"So that's when she called your grandfather for help?"

"Yes."

"How does that play into you not telling me about your last name?"

"I'm getting there. I know it might seem like I'm telling you things that are irrelevant, but to me they aren't."

"Okay," he replied.

I finished off the slice of pizza I was eating and then took a long swig of my soda, while Edward got started on his third piece. He'd been eating as I talked.

"My grandparents were livid when Renee, my mother, called them and told them all that had happened. My grandfather told her that the only way he'd agree to help them was if her and my father both agreed to do things exactly as he told them, no exceptions."

"So basically let him run their lives."

"Yes. He demanded absolute control over them. And because of that, they have expected the same thing of me. That's why my mother thinks that I am just rebelling like she did and that I will go groveling back to her just like she did with my grandfather. But she's wrong. I will just as soon be homeless on the streets than to ask her for anything ever again."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, concern overcoming his face. "I heard her tell you that she won't even pay for the rest of your schooling."

"No she won't, even though from what I've heard my grandfather was paying for hers while she was there. I have a few ideas that I am working on and hopefully one of them works out."

"That's very brave of you," he told me.

"I refuse to give up on my dreams, on what I want," I said to him, looking him right in the eye, hoping he understood the double meaning behind my words. "Do you remember when I told you over the summer how my mother's idea of helping people was to write a check and then forget about it?"

"Yes. I remember everything you've told me, Bella."

"What I didn't tell you was that my parents had no idea where I was this summer until the other night. Because of their views and ideas on helping others, I knew they'd do everything within their power to prevent me from going to the DR."

"And you didn't want them to do that?"

"No I didn't. I wanted to be there this summer to help those people, Edward. That was my only reason for going. I've stayed so far removed from my father's political career that I had no idea you were in any way related to whoever his opponent was. In fact I had been paying so little attention to it that I didn't even know who he was running against."

"Just how were you going to vote then if you were so uninformed?" he asked curiously.

"Because I was determined to vote for whoever his opponent was regardless of who it was, because the one thing I did know about my father was that he was willing to promise the voters whatever he had to in order to win. And after living with him all of my life, I knew that his beliefs were not ones I wanted to back up. His and my mother's answer to everything has always been money. Throw money at it and things will go how you want them too. So unless whoever he was running against was some kind of complete monster, he had already won my vote."

"I see," he said, his eyebrows scrunching together as he contemplated all I'd said.

There were still things to say so I dove right back in, needing to get it all out. "Getting back to my name, because of their beliefs and knowing they'd do all that they could to prevent me from volunteering this summer, when I registered with the Red Cross, I left off the last part of my name. I am not going to say how or from who, but I was able to get a second passport and other documentation that I needed to volunteer by using a copy of my original birth certificate."

"Wait? I don't understand. What do you mean your original birth certificate? How would you do that unless…"

"Unless my last name wasn't Swan yet at the time I was born."

"I don't understand. Weren't your parents married when you were born?"

"No. Due to some pretty serious complications my mom began having while pregnant with me, she was put on bed rest and wasn't allowed to travel across the country until after I was born. At that time because they weren't married, my mother had to give me her last name."

"Hale," he murmured.

"Yeah. Once they were able to move here, my grandfather drummed up the story that my parents had married back in Washington and that I was a honeymoon baby. He said they'd had a simple wedding ceremony and that because they were so thrilled for Renee and Charles they wanted to throw them the wedding they should have gotten in the first place. What all my grandfather's snooty friends didn't know was that, that wedding they witnessed was the actual real thing. They later paid to have Swan added to my last name. But at my grandfather's insistence they had it added on, instead of having it changed."

"That's some story," Edward said, slumping back in his seat. Removing his hand from mine, he ran them both through his hair, before his fingers tightened on the messy strands and he leaned his head forward in thought.

"It is," I agreed. "And I know it might be somewhat hard to believe. But I promise you, Edward, everything I am telling you is the absolute truth. Everything I've ever told you about me is the truth. Keeping my last name from you is the only thing I have ever been dishonest with you about and I can't tell you how sorry I am for not telling you. I used the last name Hale so that it would be harder for my parents to track me down if they did somehow find out that I was not sitting on the beach in Acapulco with the rest of my graduating class like I was supposed to be.

"The only one who was aware of my whereabouts was Al. My fear was that if they found out, they'd either find a way to drag me home or that my father would bring a huge media entourage to the DR and turn what I was doing into a political ploy for himself. To use the good I was doing to help himself. I couldn't allow that to happen. Don't you see I was trying to prevent exactly what you accused me of from happening?"

"But why didn't you feel you could trust me with the truth. I thought that we had been growing pretty close, Bella, and even if you couldn't tell me at first, I still don't get why you couldn't later on."

And there was exactly what I'd been afraid of. Even after everything I had told him, it still came back to that one thing.

"Can you answer me that, Bella? I can see why you didn't want you parents to know. Why you used only part of your last name. But why couldn't you tell me? _Me_, Bella? You slept in my arms all those nights and yet never told _me _who you really were."

I could see the hurt in his eyes and hear it in his voice. It now had me wondering if no matter how he felt about me if he'd ever be able to move past what I'd done.

Tears began welling in my eyes and a lump forming in my throat. "Because of _who_ you were, who you knew, was the reason at first," I whispered in a shaky voice.

"What do you mean? You said you didn't know my uncle was running against your father," he snapped. His voice had suddenly taken on an accusatory tone.

"No not because of your uncle," I clarified. "Because of your dad. Think about it from my perspective, Edward. Carlisle works for the Red Cross. At first I didn't tell you because I was petrified that you might tell him and he'd feel obligated to report me to Peter and I'd be accused of committing fraud and sent home."

"You say at first. Does that mean your reason changed?"

"Yes. Once we began growing closer, once I began falling for you and I'd gotten to know your parents…Saw how wonderful and caring they were, I was not only afraid that you'd reject me because I'd lied to you, more than anything I didn't want to hurt you or lose you. But I also had the fear of your father feeling obligated to inform Peter and that frightened me. Sure there was a big chance that you and your parents would have understood and would have never said a word. But I would have never asked you or your parents to lie for me, Edward. I could never ask that of you. I would never jeopardize any of you like that. If my parents had somehow gotten wind of my whereabouts, they would have been on the first plane to the DR and it would have all come out. I couldn't risk any of you being caught keeping my secret. I cared, still care, far too much for all of you to do that." The tears were now flowing freely down my face. "I don't know what else to say to you other than I am so, so very sorry and I hope that you can forgive me."

"I want to," he said hoarsely, his own emotions threatening to overwhelm him. "It's…it's a lot to take in." He sat silently for a few minutes pinching the bridge of his nose, hardly even breathing until he let out a long sigh and said," You've given me a lot of information to digest. A lot to think about."

"I understand. And I don't expect you to decide right now. Take all the time you need. In the meantime I won't bother you or try to contact you in any way," I told him. I then dug in my purse and found a pen and a piece of paper. "Here," I said, after I jotted down my phone number. "I want you to know that no matter what happens I will always treasure the time we had together this summer. I will never forget it. I care so much about you, but if you decide to end things, even though it's not what I want, I will respect your choice. When you're ready, no matter what you decide, here's my number."

"Thanks, and I promise you'll be the first to know what I decide," he assured me.

"I'm just gonna go call Al and have her come get me," I told him standing up and grabbing my purse and backpack.

I was halfway to the door when I heard him call out my name. "Bella." I turned around to see him throwing some money down on the table to cover our food and then come my way. "Don't call your friend. I can take you back to your dorm."

"Are you sure? She's expecting me to call her anyways. It's really not a big deal."

"I'm sure."

I nodded and let him lead me outside. He pointed to the orange jeep and then opened the door for me. Neither of us said anything along the way. It wasn't like I had to give him directions since he already knew his way around the hospital and campus grounds very well.

I didn't know where things would go from here, but did get one little shred of hope when I went to get out of his jeep and he started to lean towards me like he wanted to kiss me or give me a hug. Unfortunately he pulled back and instead just softly told me goodbye, along with the promise to call me when he had his answer.

Shutting the door to his jeep, I turned to make my way up to my building. Just as I reached the first step leading to the walkway, I heard Edward call my name, causing me to spin back around. "Happy Birthday," he said with a soft smile on his face.

"You remembered," I said, surprised that he had. It made my hopes soar that he had.

"Of course I did."

He glanced down at his steering wheel as a moment of awkward silence overcame us both. It was as if there was so much more that he wanted to say, but for whatever reason was holding back. And given all I'd just told him I could understand his reluctance to say too much right now.

"Well I better get inside," I said saving us both.

"Goodnight, Bella."

"Goodnight, Edward."

I watched for a second as he drove off before heading up to my room. It was a waiting game now. That's all I could do besides hope and pray he came to the answer I wanted him to. Until then I would wait.

**September 16, 2011**

"Isabella Marie, you better open this door now!" Al ordered as she pounded on my locked bedroom door.

My success in avoiding Al and Skylar for the past three days was about to run out. Our busy class schedules had helped me in doing so, but not any longer.

Both of them had been waiting for me when I returned from talking to Edward on Monday night. However, neither of them had pressed me for information when I told them I wasn't ready to talk about it yet. I let them know things hadn't gone badly, but I had also told them that was all I wanted to say right then. Though I could see they were both eying me carefully, watching for any telltale signs that I was putting up a front or ready to fall to pieces, they didn't protest and gave me the space I needed to digest my own feelings over what had happened.

Even though she had, I knew Al's patience would end sooner rather than later and it looked like it had reached that point today.

I pulled myself up out of the oversized bean bag chair I'd been sitting in by the window in my room, taking notes on the chapter I had to read for one of my classes and walked over to the door.

Leaning against the wall next to the door I decided to mess with her a bit. "Can't you just give me one more day? Tomorrow is Friday, one more day, Al." I couldn't help smiling while I tried to sound authentic as I whined and teased her. "Please," I added, dragging the word out for good measure.

"Nope, times up. Now unlock this door or I'll go convince Angela to do it for me."

She would too. I had no doubts about that.

My smile grew wider thinking about her telling Angela some out of this world story to get her way. I knew she would make good on her threat. In fact I was certain there wasn't anything short of being physically removed from the building and being permanently banned from it that was going to get Al away from my door today. I allowed a few moments to pass, pretending that I was still hesitating on letting her in, before I tried to put on a straight face as I first turned the lock and then the knob on the door to let her in.

"I was this close to going to get Angela," she said holding up her thumb and finger with barely enough space between them to tell they weren't touching.

"Guess it's a good thing I opened the door when I did, huh?" I said, before I started snickering at her.

"You brat," she huffed at me. "You were standing there on the other side of the door messing with me, weren't you?"

"Mm…maybe." A huge smile spread across my face.

"I would have so done it, you know."

"Oh I do. But come on, you can't tell me you wouldn't have messed with me if our situations were reversed."

"Mm…maybe," she returned with her own smile, plopping down on my bed.

"So, as you can see I'm still alive and not drowning in my own tears," I said, getting to why she was here.

"And just why is that?" she asked.

"What do you mean why is that? Do you want to see me crying my eyes out? I'd think you'd be thrilled."

"Of course I don't want to see you crying. And I know when you got home the other night you said things hadn't gone badly, but what exactly does that mean? Did he understand why you kept your last name a secret? Is he still pissed at you? What happened? You have to give me some answers here," she demanded.

"Well…I wouldn't say he's pissed at me anymore. But I'm not sure if he's going to be able to move past me keeping my real last name from him either."

"Why not?" she asked. She had a stunned look on her face as if to say there was just no other option for Edward. That she totally expected him to move past my blunder and that to her that was the only thing that would be acceptable.

_Yes, if only the great and powerful Mary Alice Brandon could wave a magic wand and rule the world. _

"Because I hurt him, Al. I don't even think it's even about the fact I didn't use my full last name anymore. He told me he understood why I had done that."

"Then what is it?"

"I think it's more about the fact that I didn't trust him enough to tell him. He's hurt by it. He believes our relationship had grown to a point where I should have told him even if I had kept it from everyone else. He's still hurt that I didn't tell him. I could see it in his eyes, Al. I really, really hurt him and I just don't know if he will be able to let that go."

"He will," she stated with all the confidence in the world, like she had some crystal ball she had seen into.

"I wish I could be as sure as you are. But I just don't know," I admitted to her. "I tried to make him understand I couldn't tell him because I'd never put him in a position to have to lie for me, but I just don't know if that will be enough."

"I do. It's simple really," she claimed while placing both her hands on my arms and looking me right in the eye. "He loves you and because of that he will forgive you."

Blinking away the tears that were forming, I turned my gaze down to my hands that were toying with the zipper on my fleece jacket, I whispered, "What if it's not enough. What if he does love me, but it's not enough."

"Oh, honey," she pulled me into her arms and hugged me tightly when she saw me swipe away a few tears. "It will be okay. From what Rose has told me, he nearly knocked his friend Emmett on his ass for saying how hot he thought you were before he knew who you were. And maybe you didn't notice, but the look of relief on his face when he found out 'Al' was a girl…Bella that boy…er…man has it for you bad. He is head over heels in love with you. He'll come around."

"I so hope you're right," I said hugging her back. She really was the best friend in the world.

"I am, and as my reward you are going out with me next Saturday night. You never got to properly celebrate your birthday and Saturday is Rose's birthday so her parents have rented a private room at that dance club Eclipse, and she's invited you, me and Sky."

"You're forgetting one thing," I told her.

"What? And don't tell me it's that I don't know if I'm right yet, so I don't get my reward yet," she insisted with a giggle.

"Well that then that's two things," I teased. "But the main one is that we aren't twenty-one. How are we going to get into that club?"

"Well first of all, the bar side of the club is split from the dance floor side. Second, they allow under twenty-ones in the dance club side of the place. And third, Rose's father has worked out a deal with the club where everyone in her party has to have their hand stamped. They do this normally, but they are using a special one for those in her party. There's one color for those old enough to drink and another color for those underage. If you don't have a stamp, you have to leave, which is their normal protocol anyway."

"I don't know, Al…if it's her party, won't Edward be there?"

"So what if he is. Let him see you out having a good time and see what he's missing out on. Come on. Come with us, hang out and have fun. You so need this, Bell."

"Fine," I groaned and gave in to her. She was right. I hadn't really done much for fun lately and it would be good to get out. Plus, even if I weren't with him, it would be good to see Edward. Maybe seeing me would help him make up his mind.

"Yay! We are going to have so much fun. You'll see."

"We better. Now, I have to finish my homework. Are you staying to work on yours or what?"

"Nope, I have to head home, but I'll be over tomorrow night to see if we need to go shopping this weekend for something for you to wear next Saturday."

"Al," I whined.

"Love you," she chirped and popped up and headed out the door before I could protest any more.

**September 17, 2011**

Reaching over to shut off my alarm clock, I quickly buried my face into my pillow to shield my tired eyes against the bright morning sun that was filling my room. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night and right now the last thing I wanted to do was drag my sleepy body from between the soft sheets of my bed. I'd woken up in the middle of the night after dreaming about Edward and had been unable to go back to sleep. It wasn't that it was a bad dream, quite the opposite actually, given the fact that I'd dreamt he had been waiting for me after my last class today and had told me that he'd forgiven me. He had gone on to say he loved me and never wanted to be away from me again. Then just before his lips could reach mine, in what I was sure would be a toe curling kiss, my bladder decided to scream at me to be emptied. For the next hour or so afterwards I had tossed from one side to the other, trying to shut my brain off and stop my lips from tingling at the memory of what it felt like to be kissed by Edward.

Frustrated over my ability to fall back to sleep, I had groaned much louder than I had meant to and Sky had heard me from the kitchen where she was up getting a snack. Seems she had been unable to sleep too, but her insomnia was from nerves over an anatomy test we had today. So thinking that I was having a bad dream or was upset, she knocked on my door to check on me and we had ended up chatting about my talk with Edward and going dancing on Saturday with Al. It had been close to three in the morning by the time she was heading back to her room to try and get some sleep.

Finally prying one eye open I glanced at my clock, seeing I had been procrastinating for fifteen minutes now. That meant it was eight-fifteen and I had to hurry to get to class by nine. Luckily I wouldn't have to think about what to wear today. We had been instructed to wear our scrubs today since we'd be going on a tour of the hospital after our anatomy test.

"You up?" Sky called from the hall.

"Yeah, hopping in the shower real quick. I'll be reading in twenty," I replied fighting back a yawn.

"Me too."

After hurrying through my shower, I dried off and made my way over my closet for my clothes. It was a little cool out today so grabbed a shirt to wear under my scrub top and then I finished getting dressed. They might not be the most attractive things to wear, but what hospital scrubs lacked in style, they more than made up for in comfort. Not having enough time to really do anything with my hair, I dried it just enough with the hair dryer so that it wasn't dripping all over me and then pulled it back into a ponytail. I then applied a little makeup and slipped on my sneakers and grabbed my backpack.

I met Skylar in the kitchen as I scrounged for a granola bar to scarf down on the way to class and we both laughed when we saw that we had both eaten the same thing and had fixed our hair the same way.

"You nervous?" she asked as she pulled open the door to my car. We took turns driving from our dorm room to the nursing school building and this week was mine.

"A little," I told her. Tests weren't something that usually freaked me out. But Sky had explained to me she was one of those people who could know the information backwards and forwards and she still panicked when it came time to be tested over it. "I think I'm more nervous about the hospital tour than I am the test."

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know. I guess maybe because everyone will know we are the newbies and they'll all be looking at us like we're some sort of lab rat or something," I told her.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. At least it's Friday though."

"Yep. Thank goodness for that," I said with a sigh as I pulled into my assigned spot on the nursing school parking lot.

From there on the rest of the day went by quickly. It was just after two in the afternoon when the twenty or so of us in our group lined up to begin our tour.

It began in the surgery section, with our teacher filling us in on the different departments we'd be doing rotations in before graduation. Sky and I just rolled our eyes at each other when a couple of the girls were having a hard time accepting the fact that they'd have to do a rotation in surgery, whether they wanted to or not. They thought it was gross, which had me wondering what the hell they were doing in nursing school in the first place.

We followed along through all the different departments until we came to our last stop. The ER. This was where I wanted to be. I found the commotion and chaos that could go on in an emergency room to be thrilling and exciting and where I could best put my desire to help those who needed it to work. While I didn't have anything against being a floor nurse, and my second choice would be a labor and delivery nurse, there was just something about the action and critical care that went on in the ER that made it more of what I wanted to do. I also knew that having good ER skills as a nurse would be very handy for any future volunteer work I would do.

Exiting the elevator we went down the short hall and rounded a corner to find ourselves at the emergency room nurses' station.

"Ladies, please direct your attention to the patient information board on the back wall," our teacher said, pulling all of our attention away from the group of med students getting instructions from a couple of doctors. "Here you will see a very critical tool we rely on to keep the ER running smoothly. It may not seem like much compared to all of the high tech equipment we use on a daily basis, but it is pertinent in allowing our patients to be treated in a timely manner.

"One of the chief complaints that is always associated with being seen in an ER is the amount of time it takes to actually be seen. Here at Hopkins, we strive for excellence and keeping the information board up-to-date helps make sure we can do that. I am going to ask you to listen to Doctors Carter and Ross as they explain the importance of the board to their group of med students."

I was listening as the two doctors explained the different columns on the huge dry erase board. Dr. Carter introduced himself to us and began to explain what each of the columns on the board was for. From left to right he told us they were for listing the room number, patient name, why they were there, the time they arrived and the doctor that had been assigned to each patient. I was trying to pay attention, but I couldn't help notice that one of the med students seemed very familiar to me. The way he stood, the width of his shoulders and even the color of his hair seemed familiar to me, but it was hard to tell since he had a rather short haircut, buzzed close to his head.

"Sky," I said whispering to her as softly as I could to get her attention.

"What?" she whispered back.

Leaning over closer to her, I softly replied, "See that guy up there? The tall one with the really short hair?"

Standing on her tip-toes to look over and around the girl in front of her, she looked at me and nodded then shrugged her shoulders and mouthed the word "so" to me.

"I swear I know him," I told her.

"How?" she asked.

"I don't know. There's just something about him," I said, while glancing back up at him, wishing he'd turn even slightly so I could look at more than the back of his head.

As I did, the guy moved to scratch the back of his head and that's when I saw it. I'd know that watch anywhere after seeing it on him every day for most of the summer.

"Shit," I muttered.

"What?" Sky asked, trying to see what I was focused on.

"It's Edward."

A snort shot out of her just before she said, "Look, Bella, I know you miss the guy and all, but I think you've lost your mind. That guy doesn't have Edward's hair."

I was fighting between being embarrassed and grateful when Sky's snort caused everyone to turn around and look at her.

"Is there a problem, Miss…" Dr. Ross asked

However all I heard of her response was something about her sneezing too hard, because my eyes were locked with Edward's green ones. If I was reading the emotion dancing in his eyes, he was happy to see me. And when his lips curved up into my favorite smile when the doctor ordered us all to focus our attentions back to the patient info board, I was pretty certain that I had been right.

_What the hell happened to his hair?_

The doctor continued to talk for a short while longer. How long I didn't know as I had been completely lost in watching Edward. I could have stared at him all day. That strong, angular jaw of his, the way the layer of stubble covered it, the way his tongue briefly swept across his bottom lip, making me remember what it was like to kiss those lips, and the way his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat when he swallowed. He was so incredibly handsome and sexy and I'd be totally lying if I tried to deny the fact that I was anything other than thoroughly mesmerized by him. Of course the way his lips were twitching ever so slightly, showing he was fighting the urge to smile, I was convinced he knew my eyes were glued on him and that he was loving every minute of it.

Being pulled abruptly from my dazzled by Edward daze by one of the doctors' deep voices, I was sad when the group of med students were instructed to move on to their next stop. I so badly wanted to be able to talk to Edward and ask him if he'd given any thought to our conversation from a few days ago or if he'd made any decision about the status of our relationship. I'd have to continue to wait for now and hope that he wanted things to work out as much as I did. His positive reaction to seeing me had given me some much needed encouragement, and my heart soared with even more hope when he was just about out of my sight and he turned his head, looking right at me, giving me a quick flash of that smile again and winked at me.

"I saw that," Sky told me as we were also instructed to move on. "He so still has it bad for you, Bella. It was written all over his face."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'd be willing to bet you hear from him very soon," she insisted.

"I sure hope so. Wait…" I stopped instantly where I was and grabbed her arm to stop her too as what she'd just said sunk in. "Who are you and where did my roommate go?" I asked her completely stunned by her sudden change of heart where Edward was concerned.

"What?"

"Why are you so suddenly so sure of his feelings for me? Do you know something I don't know? Has Al been talking to him behind my back?" I had rambled the questions at her so quickly I had sounded like Al.

"No I don't know anything, and let's just say that right now, right this minute, I believe he truly cares for you. He genuinely looks happy to see you and appears to have enjoyed the attention you gave him."

"Oh, okay, but why just right now, right this minute?" _Please don't let her start pushing Luke on me again. _

"Because he still has to pull his head out of his ass and make things right with you, and until he does that, I won't be one hundred percent Team Edward."

The skeptical part of me understood exactly what Sky meant about Edward needing to make good on the feelings he claimed to have for me, while the other part took all of the positive signs and let them keep me holding on. But no matter how tightly I held on to hope it was getting harder and harder to wait. Harder and harder not to second guess everything as the time went by.

Despite being hard, waiting was still all I could do for now. It had only been four days, which even though they had felt more like four years, wasn't very long. But while I was willing to give Edward the time he needed to come to terms with everything I'd told him on Monday, I wasn't willing to wait forever. Sooner or later he was going to have to make a decision and like it or not, we'd both have to live with whatever that choice was.

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**So…anyone catch my shout out to my all-time favorite television show, ER? And how many of us remember the first time Rob shaved his hair off and we were all like, what the hell? I know I do. **

**Don't forget to check out the pics on my blog, especially if you want to see Stretch in his scrubs. **

**I promise to get the next chapter to you as soon as I can. **

**I can't wait to hear from you. I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!**

**EA**


	16. Time's Up

Hi, Everyone. Are we ready to see how the night at the dance club goes? I sure hope so!

Thank you My-Bella and Hope4More. I couldn't do this without you both.

According to anonymouslysufferingfromOCD, there might be a need for some tissues at the end...

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**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

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**September 19, 2011**

***{Bella}***

It was now Sunday and for the past two days I had continued to ride the high I was on since I'd seen Edward while touring the hospital last Friday. Even right now as Al and Sky dragged me through the mall in search of the perfect outfit to wear to the dance club next Saturday night, there was nothing that could dampen my mood.

Since I was at a complete loss as to what to buy, I had given Al total reign over my outfit, but not before making her promise me she wouldn't put me in anything too over the top.

Browsing through the racks of clothes, I pulled out a couple of tops I thought might work.

"Those won't work, Bell," Al said after giving the items in my hand nothing more than a passing glance.

"Why not?"

"They're too big, too frumpy and so not dance club attire," she insisted and rolled her eyes at me.

"What about this?" Skylar called from the other end of the rack, holding up a black and red bustier type blouse.

"Now there ya go," Al cheered with a laugh. She knew there was no way I'd ever wear something so revealing.

"No way in hell," I fought back, just in case there was any chance, no matter how slight it might be, that she would entertain the idea of me wearing it.

"Oh come on, Bella," Sky encouraged in a playful yet somewhat sarcastic tone. "The black would look great on you. It would contrast great with your skin tone and Al and I could poof your hair and make you look like a real sex kitten."

"One problem, I'm not a sex kitten, nor do I want to be one."

"Chillax will ya! I only said look like one." Skylar sighed and rolled her eyes at me.

"Well I don't even want to look like one," I mumbled and walked over to another part of the store.

They had both already found their outfits and had done so with ease. I was beginning to get frustrated with the whole process. I didn't understand why Al hadn't found anything in my closet acceptable.

Flipping thought the rack at the back of the store a glint of blue sequins caught my eye. As soon as I untangled the hangers from the others and held up the top I knew I had found what I wanted to wear.

"Hey, Al," I called.

"Umpf," she groaned as we smacked into each other. She'd been right behind me and I hadn't seen her in my excitement over the top I'd found. Recovering quickly she asked, "What'd ya find?"

"This," I said holding the top up for her to see. "You said I needed something cute, with a little sex appeal, and some sparkle."

"It's perfect." She smiled and held it up against my chest. "It will look great with your new jeans and boots I gave you for your birthday and the leather jacket you got last Christmas. Plus…" she trailed off, pulling me over to the full view mirror by the dressing rooms and holding the shirt up in front of me. "It's going to hug you in all the right places and the neckline should be just low enough to give you a little sex appeal, but not enough that you're spilling out or look sleazy."

"I still like the one I found better," Sky interjected. "Edward would fall all over himself if he saw you in that bustier. In fact I bet all the guys there would."

"If you like the top so much, then you get it," I told her.

"I've already found my outfit. I just thought a little bare skin would drive him crazy. Get his attention," she replied, shrugging her shoulder.

"I don't want _anyone's_ attention but Edward's and I shouldn't have to show skin to get his attention, Sky. Besides, he's seen me in a bikini that left a lot less to his imagination than that top does. And if I have to resort to dressing like Kelsey to get his attention, then something is very wrong."

"True. Sorry, Bella."

"No, worries," I assured her. I knew she meant well. As much as I wanted Edward back, I really didn't want to resort to those sorts of tactics to get him.

_Didn't mean I didn't want him to think I was sexy._

We made our way to the checkout counter so I could pay for my top.

"My treat," Al said, shoving her arm in front of me and handing her card to the cashier.

"No. Al—"

"Shush," she ordered, placing her finger over my lips. "You need to save your money for important stuff. And since I'm making you go dancing, then I'm paying for your top."

"But…"

"No buts about it, Bell. Now get the bag and let's go get some lunch."

I sighed and did as she wanted. I knew her well enough to know there was no point arguing with her.

"So how goes the job search, Bella?" Skylar asked as we sat down in the mall food court.

"Not so good," I told her, picking the pickles off my Chick-Fil-A sandwich. "Unfortunately I'm too late for the work study program for this semester."

"Sorry to hear that," Sky said while Al nodded in agreement with her. "What other options do you have?"

"Not many at the school itself. My name was added to the list for next semester, but all the spots were filled either before or right after move-in by students that had expressed an interest in their college applications. Plus they told me that I'd only get called if someone graduated or left their job, that most students stick with the positions they get."

"You know, Bell, my parents' offer still stands," Al reminded me while dipping her fry in catsup.

"I know. I hope they understand how much I appreciate it, too. I just need to do this on my own. I still have the library job I applied for. Hopefully something comes of it."

"I'm sure something will work out," Sky said encouragingly.

"Have you heard from Edward since you saw him on Friday?" Al asked, changing the subject.

"Nope," I answered, popping the "p" as I did.

"Speak of the devil," Sky said, nodding her head in the direction behind Al and me. "And he's not alone, Al."

I watched as my best friend's head snapped around so fast I was sure she was going to have a massive kink in her neck from it. Her face then lit up like the brightest star in the sky, causing me to follow her gaze and see what had her so damn excited.

I shouldn't have been surprised to find her eyes glued to Jasper. From what she'd told me, they had spent a lot of time together and she was falling fast and hard for him. I had never seen Al so completely enraptured by a guy before. However, Jasper wasn't alone. He had Edward, Emmett and Rose with him.

"Gah," Al groaned before exhaling in a long sigh. "I swear if there was such a thing as swagger patrol, all three of them would be put behind bars."

"No shit," Sky added. "Just look at them. Every chick in this place is watching them."

I instantly noticed the heads of several girls at the tables nearby watching with wistful, lusty stares on their faces like they were watching some famous sex symbol movie star. But the girls in the place weren't the only ones gawking.

"There's a few guys looking too," I told them as I watched the four of them walk towards us.

It didn't seem to matter that Rose and Emmett were holding hands; they were both still causing heads to turn as they went by.

Turning my gaze back to Edward, it was impossible for me to take my eyes off of him. I was curious to see his reaction to the attention but he seemed oblivious to the stares they were garnering. However, I caught Jasper glance up at me and then turn his head towards Edward as he whispered something to his cousin. It was then that Edward looked up and noticed me watching him. He said something to Jasper before bumping him in the shoulder as his eyes found mine and remained there. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks at getting caught watching him again. His lips turned up ever so slightly on the one side, into the sly smirk he'd had on his face the other day when he'd caught me watching him at the hospital.

Knowing Edward wasn't the type of guy to want so much attention on himself and him not reacting to any of the other stares he was receiving, I could only come to the conclusion that he enjoyed _me_ giving him so much attention. That he wanted the attention from me alone and that had to be a good thing as far as I was concerned. It had to mean I had a pretty good chance of him still wanting to be with me.

As soon as the four of them reached our table, Al was popping up and jumping into Jasper's arms.

"Hey, princess," he said to her and placed a sweet kiss on her lips.

"Hi," she replied to him, grinning ear to ear. "What are you guys up to?"

"We came with Emmett to pick up Rosalie. Our mom has her car today and Edward and I tagged along to grab some lunch."

"That's what we just sat down to do. You wanna join us?"

"Sure," Emmett answered for the four of them, grabbing a couple of chairs from the empty table behind ours and pulling them up to the end of our table.

Sky scooted over to allow Rose to sit at the end of the table when the guys all started to grab a chair. But Jasper gave his cousin a playful shove in my direction as him and Emmett grabbed two chairs and sat down in them, with Jasper simultaneously pulling Al onto his lap, all like they had executed some sort of synchronized dance move, leaving the chair next to me wide open for Edward to sit in.

"Real subtle, guys," Edward said to Emmett and Jasper.

As Edward sat down, his leg brushed against mine under the table and it cause my body to tingle with the familiar surge of energy that had flowed between us since the first time he'd touched my hand on the airplane to the Dominican Republic.

Fighting the pull I'd always felt urging me to reach out and touch him, I smiled softly and said, "Hi."

"Hi," he returned after clearing his throat and running his hand over his head as if he'd forgotten he'd cut his hair. He looked just as nervous as I felt.

I wasn't sure what I expected when he sat down next to me. When everyone else around us started holding a conversation, I was worried that the two of us were just going to sit there uncomfortably. Thankfully that didn't happen.

"Oh, Bella, Alice told me that you're coming to my party on Saturday," Rose said, bringing me into the conversation they'd been having.

"If that's what you want to call it," I told her with a laugh. "I wasn't really left much of a choice."

"Please," Al huffed in a teasing tone to Rose. "Don't let her make you think that she wasn't excited at the possibility of seeing Edward there. Just because I pointed that fact out to her to convince her to go, doesn't mean I am forcing her to do it."

"Alice is right, you know," Sky chimed in.

"Just gang up on me guys," I shot back at them in an attempt to hide the blush I felt creeping up my neck over being outed at wanting to go to see Edward.

"Well, Eddie my boy, looks like you don't have an excuse to skip out on my girl's party. Emmett shoved Edward so hard he nearly fell out of his chair. If he hadn't knocked into me and grabbed the back of my chair, he'd be on the floor by now. As it was the force of him bumping into me shook my chair hard enough that it was a miracle that we both weren't sent tumbling to the floor.

"What the hell, Emmett! You could have caused me to knock Bella out of her chair!" Edward barked at his friend before turning his attention to me. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I answered, trying to smile and trying to hide the fact that even though I didn't want to see Edward sprawled on the mall floor, I was grateful for any reason that allowed me to come in contact with him.

"Ass," Edward mumbled as he gave Emmett a frustrated glare.

Preventing anymore fallout over the chair mishap, Rose quickly turned the conversation back to her party. She was now sitting next to Al and the three of us girls were completely engrossed in the details, while Emmett and Jasper were eating like starved animals and Edward was picking at the fries he'd gotten.

A few minutes later Edward excused himself to use the restroom. When he came back I was in the process of taking a drink of my soda when I felt something brush against my back as he sat back down. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Edward had his hand on the back of my chair and it was just barely touching me.

I tried to fight the thrill that shot through me at the thought that he was finding some little way to touch me, but I ended up shivering a little instead.

"You cold?" Edward asked, showing just how closely he'd been paying attention to me.

"Um, no. Must just be the cold soda," I said, setting the cup back on the table, trying to hide the real reason.

"So…are you really going Saturday night?" he asked.

"Yeah. It sounds like a fun time." I realized in that moment that he had never responded to Emmett's jab at him before. "Are you going?"

"It seems my best friend isn't leaving me any choice either," he said with a chuckle.

"Oh, you don't uh…have to go. I mean don't feel like you have to on my account."

"Would that be a bad thing?" he asked me, a smile forming on one side of his mouth.

"No. At least I don't think so."

"Me either."

His last comment had me grinning from ear to ear.

After that Edward and I were pulled into the conversation with everyone else. We talked about a lot of things including the fact he'd gotten his hair cut because it was getting long and flopping down in his eyes. So tired of it, he went as short as he could. The whole time we all chatted, his hand remained on the back of my chair and occasionally I'd feel his thumb against my back. I could have sat there all afternoon, but unfortunately our time there came to an end when Emmett announced he had to head home and mow the lawn before his mom got home from work.

We all said goodbye and the cloud I'd been floating on soared a bit higher as we walked to Al's car after Edward told me he'd see me on Saturday.

_Saturday couldn't get here fast enough._

**September 22, 2011**

By the time Tuesday came around I was feeling brave. I'd had two positive encounters with Edward since our talk where I'd come clean with him about everything. I knew that I had told him I'd give him the space to make up his mind about what he wanted to do, but I missed him and after how he'd acted when I'd seen him at the hospital and then again at the mall, it gave me the courage to have Al see if Rose would give her Edward's new phone number.

Sitting down to eat a quick bowl of cereal, I sent her a text…

**Bella: Good morning, my dear BFF.**

Al: Good morning, Bell. What's up?

_She knew me entirely too well. _

**Bell: I was wondering if you'd be willing to do me a favor?**

Al: Sure. Whatcha need?

**Bell: Will U C Rose today?**

Al: Yeah, y?

**Bell: Do U think she'd give U Edward's #?**

Al: Probably. Want me to ask her?

**Bell: Please!**

Al: You got it dude. Tired of waiting?

**Bell: A little. I've had 2 good run-ins with him, so just want to give him a little push him if I can.**

Al: I think that's a great idea!

**Bell: Thanks, Al, you're the best. **

Al: I might not see her until my last class of the day, but I will let you know as soon as I do.

**Bell: Ok. Thanks again. **

Al: Anything for U. U know that.

**Bell: I do and same 4 U.**

Al: I know. Gotta drive now. TTYL. 3 U

**Bell: TTYL 3 U 2**

The rest of the day wore on almost as slowly as the day I'd met up with Edward had. Once again I found myself willing the clock to move faster. Only difference this time was I was bouncing with nervous excitement instead of squirming with nervous worry.

By the time late evening rolled around and I still hadn't heard from Al, I was beginning to think that she hadn't gotten Edward's number and was avoiding me so she didn't have to tell me the bad news.

"Shit, Al, where are you?" I mumbled to myself as I let my chemistry book drop to my lap in frustration.

I glanced at my watch and saw it was nearing eight. I knew she was home from school by now and had probably been for a while now.

_Maybe she got distracted with Jasper and forgot to call._

Picking up my phone, I started to send her a text when one came through from her.

Al: Sorry I didn't get this to you sooner, Bell. My mom called and had me go get Cindy from school cuz she wasn't feeling well. They had plans they couldn't change so I've been with her all evening. Here's Edward's #. 630-813-2006 Rose said to tell you to not let him make you wait forever.

**Bell: No worries. Hope she feels better and isn't being too cranky. **

Al: Cranky is an understatement. This is Cindy we are talking about, Bell. Remember she is difficult even on her best days. LOL

**Bell: LOL I remember all too well. Sorry U R stuck with her.**

Al: Ok got to get back to her. She's whining for something to drink. Let me know what Edward says.

**Bell: Ok I will. And thank you! TTYL**

Al: U R welcome. TTYL

I programed Edward's number into my phone and then stared at it, trying to decide if I wanted to text or call him. After a couple of minutes, I chose to call him; I wanted to hear his voice.

Unfortunately all I got to hear was his voice mail message, so I left him a message asking him if he wanted to meet tomorrow for lunch in the college cafeteria or maybe for coffee after both our classes were over. I then left my number for him to make sure he had it, even though I had given it to him when we'd had our talk.

Afterwards, I finished up my homework and when it neared eleven and I hadn't heard from him, I crawled into bed and hoped that I would soon. Just before I drifted off to sleep, my phone lit up with a text from Edward that contained just one word—maybe.

For a while after I got the text, I tossed and turned a bit until I had finally convinced myself that it was better than him telling me "no", and eventually fell asleep.

**September 23, 2011**

The next morning on my way to class I contemplated sending Edward another text. I was still bothered by his one word non-answer and was hoping for something more concrete. In the end I decided I had reached out to him with my coffee invitation and now the ball was in his court.

However, later that day when I saw him in the cafeteria buying lunch, despite deciding I'd leave things in Edward's hands, I couldn't stop myself from going over to talk to him. I told myself that it had been late when he'd responded so maybe he'd been tired and just sent that quick text so he could sleep or maybe so he wouldn't wake me up.

"Hi," I said smiling widely as I walked up to him where he was standing at the cash register

"Hi," he replied quickly as he grabbed his change from the girl operating the register.

"Did you want to go for coffee or something later?" I asked, hoping he'd give me a concrete answer this time.

"I'm sorry I have to go," he called as he rushed off, leaving me standing there stunned, wondering what the fuck had just happened.

My encounter with Edward at lunch had set the tone for the rest of my day. I had been crabby and pissy with Sky, even though I didn't mean to, and short with some other people in my classes too.

So when my last class was over, I walked to my car with Sky, handed her my keys and said, "Here, take my car home. I'm going to head on over to the library and study there."

"You want me to pick you up later?" she asked.

"No. I think I'll walk. It's not really that far and it's nice out today."

"Are you sure, Bella? I know you've had a bad day, you don't have to go to the library you know," she said, pushing my hand with my keys back at me.

"I know I don't have to. But I've been a bitch all afternoon and I just want to be alone and the walk home will help me clear my head."

"Okay, but if you change your mind, give me a call." She took my keys and then gave me a hug before climbing into my car.

I promised her I'd call if I wanted a ride and waved bye to her as she pulled away.

I walked the couple of blocks distance to the library and let out a long sigh thinking I'd be alone so I wouldn't take my foul mood out on anyone else. But as I made my way back to the area where I liked to sit, I saw Edward sitting at the table with several books surrounding him.

He looked deep in thought over whatever it was he was working on as he thumbed through the pages of one of the thickest books I'd ever seen.

_Probably a medical reference book_, I thought.

Seeing him sitting there, I felt my anger over his cold behavior this afternoon swell within me again. I wanted to march over to him and yell at him and ask him what the fuck his problem was.

Problem was, that would only serve to get me thrown out of the library. So instead I sucked in a long breath of air, and straightened my back and walked right past him like he wasn't even there.

_Take that, Mr. Cullen. Let's see how you like it. _

I was almost past his table when I heard him.

"Bella, wait."

I paused and thought about it for a second. Without even looking back at him, I whispered, "I have a lot to do," and started to walk again. It was a hard thing to do, but right then, I couldn't help thinking he needed to see how I'd felt earlier when he'd walked off on me.

However I'd barely taken a step when he said, "Please."

"What?" I asked abruptly, turning back to look at him. The look of sorrow on his face and worry in his eyes had me immediately regretting ever being pissed at him today.

_God, why does he have to have such a hold on me? On my heart?_

_Because you love him, dummy._

"Come here? Sit with me, please?" he asked, his voice soft as he begged me with his eyes to do as he wanted.

Sighing I nodded and went around to the chair he was already pulling out for me.

I sat down and immediately pulled my homework from my backpack. I might have sat next to him like he asked, but if there was going to be conversation between us, he was going to start it. I wasn't going to say a word to him unless he explained why he'd acted like he had earlier today.

After finding where I'd left off in my note taking earlier in class, I picked up my pen and started to write when Edward placed his hand over mine.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

I remained quiet, glancing between his face and his hand covering mine.

He continued. "I was an ass earlier and I'm sorry."

"Well you could have just said 'no' when you texted me last night if you didn't want to meet up with me today," I replied, trying to control the frustration welling in me over his actions but not totally succeeding.

"It's not that I didn't want to," he sighed.

"Well that's sure how it felt," I huffed.

"You're mad."

"Yeah I am."

"I'm sorry. I know you have every right to be pissed after the way I blew you off and saying I'm sorry might seem lame. But I really am."

I wanted to stay mad at him, but seeing the sincerity in his eyes and hearing it in his voice, I couldn't. But I did think I deserved an explanation.

"Then why did you do it?" I asked.

"I've been overwhelmed yesterday and today with school, was running late, was already having a bad day and I…I took it out on you. I'm sorry. I know it wasn't right and I know you didn't deserve it, but I didn't mean to do it."

Realizing he'd done to me exactly what I'd done to Sky today, I knew I was going to forgive him. My school work was stressful enough for me that I could only imagine what he was probably going through with his.

"It's okay," I said, turning my hand over underneath his and gave his hand a squeeze to further reassure him I meant what I said.

"No, it's not. But thank you for understanding," he said, raising my hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. The feel of his lips on my skin sent shivers down my spine and made me wish that he'd kissed my lips and not my hand.

Attempting to shake off the effects his affections had on me, I laughed softly and said, "Well I sorta did the same thing to Skylar after I saw you today."

"You did?" His lips were now turning up into that smile I loved and his eyes were brightening. I could see the Edward that I had fallen so hard for over the summer surfacing in them.

"Yeah. I've been a grumpy bitch all afternoon and it's all your fault."

"Guess I owe her an apology too, then."

"Yeah, you do," I told him.

He nodded in agreement and then we began to talk about school for the next few minutes. It was great. It was like someone had turned back the hands of time and the walls that had been erected between us over the last several weeks were gone. We chatted back and forth occasionally as we both dug into our homework and I loved the tingle that would shoot up my leg every time his would brush against mine under the table.

The time seemed to fly by as Edward and I tackled our homework, side by side. We'd catch each other sneaking peeks at each other. He'd smile, I'd giggle and we'd dive back into our work. It was perfect.

That is until Luke came along and sat down at the same table with us.

"Hey, Bella. Edward," he, said sitting right across from me.

"Hi, Luke," I said quickly before turning back to my work.

"Hey," Edward replied to him.

Things seemed to be okay for a few minutes until Luke started talking to me. He would ask me about the weather, school, what I was working on, anything he could to get my attention.

I didn't want to be rude to him, I did consider him my friend, but it was beginning to get annoying.

I was about to ask Luke to please stop interrupting me when Edward reacted first.

"Look, if you guys are going to keep talking, then I'm moving," he huffed.

He picked up his backpack off the floor and rushed through closing all the books he had spread all over his side of the table and after stacking them rather loudly, he carried part of them over to a table that was on the other side of the room.

"Edward, wait," I called after him as loud as dared in the library.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it, I'll just move," he quipped as he came back for the rest of his books and walked away from me for the second time today.

"Well, fuck," I mumbled.

"Sorry," Luke whispered.

"Just…just let me get my work done. Okay?" I asked him gruffly.

It was pretty obvious to me that Luke had interjected himself into my and Edward's time together on purpose and that pissed me off. He knew where things stood, how I only wanted to be friends with him and if he thought sabotaging my chances with Edward was going to get him a chance with me, he was as warped in his thinking as his sister was.

"Yeah, sure," he grumbled.

I nodded and set my focus back on my homework, not saying anything else to him.

I wasn't sure how much time had gone by when Luke whispered to me, "Your boyfriend looks like he wants to carve my heart out with a spoon."

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused and frustrated he was interrupting me again.

"Edward. I've seen him look over here several times and each time he looks like he wants to carve my heart out. And knowing him, he'd probably use a wooden spoon too, making that shit hurt even more," he replied with a low snort.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm not even sure if he's still my boyfriend anymore," I told him, not really wanting to admit it to him or myself. But until Edward made up his mind one way or the other for certain, it was the truth, I didn't know.

"Well judging by the looks he's given me tonight and the way the two of you keep glancing back and forth at each other with sad puppy dog eyes, I think there's a good chance he will still be your boyfriend."

"I don't know. He still has to forgive me for what I did first."

"He'd be a fool not to, Bella," Luke insisted.

"I hope you're right. I can't tell what he's going to do," I said softly, trying to not get all choked up.

"Well let me just say this much, Bella...I've heard the story from Sky. And while no guy likes to be lied to by the girl they care about, I get why you did what you did. I think anyone might have done the same thing in your place. If Edward can't see that, he's an idiot."

"Don't call him that," I snapped. It was beginning to seem like Luke was on a mission to piss me off tonight.

"Why? It's the truth. From what I've learned about you you're a pretty fantastic girl, Bella. You're smart, caring, loyal, and on top of all that, beautiful. If he can't get over his own hang-ups and see that, then that's his loss."

"Thanks," I replied, not knowing what else to say. Maybe I should have lashed out at him for barging in on Edward and me like he had, but in that moment all I could think about was that he had a point about everything he'd said about Edward.

"And, Bella," Luke said as he stood. "Just remember this, Edward isn't the only fish in the sea. You have options. And I am not just talking about me. I've seen guys watch you, and I've heard guys talk about you. If Edward doesn't want you, there are others who'd be more than happy to fill his shoes. Don't let him string you along and leave you hanging forever."

He didn't give me time to reply, he just grabbed his stuff and left. I glanced over at Edward just in time to catch him looking away from me.

No longer able to concentrate on my homework, I sat there rolling everything Luke had just said in my head. Was I doing what he'd said? Was I letting Edward keep me dangling on a string? It had only been close to two weeks since I'd told him everything. Was that long enough? Should he have made a decision by now? And how much longer was I willing to wait?

I got up and gathered my stuff together, determined to think about all the questions I'd just asked myself as I walked home. Hopefully I'd be able to come to some sort of conclusion and know what do to.

**September 26, 2011**

***{Edward}***

"Ed, you're gonna be drunk in no time if you don't slow down, bro," Jasper warned me.

He was right and I knew it. I was already on my third beer and we'd only been here a little more than an hour.

"I think he's trying to drink himself stupid so he can forget Bella is out there on the dance floor shaking her ass and driving him mad," Rosalie quipped with a wry smile.

"Or numb the reaction he's having in his pants because of her," Emmett shot at me.

"Cheers to that shit," Jasper added, raising his beer in a mock toast to Emmett's comment.

They were all pretty much dead on too.

From the moment she'd walked in wearing her tight jeans that hugged the curve of her ass perfectly and the leather jacket that gave her an edgier, sexier, almost a hint of a bad girl look, I hadn't been able to completely shut down the thoughts that were plaguing my mind. It had become even more difficult when she'd taken off her jacket and I'd seen the way the sparkling tank top she wore clung to her chest and dipped just low enough to give me a glimpse of what was underneath it.

Everything about her was calling to me tonight. The way her hair was hanging down her back and around her shoulders like the straightest strands of silk I'd ever seen. The way she was laughing and dancing so carefree. How she carried herself so full of life; her confidence made her so much more alluring and beautiful.

Sure she'd been gorgeous at the ball and sure I'd seen her in a bikini, but tonight she was so damn sexy I could hardly stand it. She looked fucking hot tonight, more than she had ever before and I was dying to pull her off the dance floor and kiss her senseless.

As a result it had been incredibly hard to keep my eyes off of her. I'd only been able to do so for very brief periods of time when someone would pull my attention away from her.

"Want some water or something?" Emmett asked me, pulling my gaze from the dance floor where Bella was currently dancing with her friends Al and Skylar. "I'm going to get another round for the rest of us."

"Yeah, water would be great," I replied quickly turning my focus back to where I'd last seen Bella.

My eyes began searching for her when I realized she wasn't where she'd been before. Scanning the area surrounding that spot, I eventually found her when she came bursting through the crowd of people with Al. They seemed to be excited by the change in the song that was playing.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself. She was completely mesmerizing and was absolutely clueless to it. I had been fighting the urge to join her on the dance floor ever since I'd arrived. Things weren't completely resolved between us yet and after what had gone down the other night in the library, I wasn't sure if dancing with her was a wise move or not.

"I heard that," Jasper said with a smirk as he passed me my bottle of water from Emmett, who had just returned with our drinks.

Taking a long swig of the water, I downed nearly half of it. However the drunk feeling that had been rising inside me had nothing to do with the alcohol that I had been drinking. It had everything to do with the woman I couldn't tear my eyes off of.

"Told ya he had it bad," Emmett piped in.

"He's not the only one," Rose added with a nod in her brother's direction. His eyes were fixated on the tiny little brunette dancing next to Bella.

Jasper may not have been looking at his sister when she spoke, but he certainly had heard her and had a remark of his own for her. "No more so than that big lug over there next to you is or than you are for him, Sis."

"Touché'," was her only response to him.

I snorted at their comments, knowing they all were right. Jasper had done nothing but talk about Al since he'd met her the night of the Black and White Ball, Emmett had spent more time with Rose and paid more attention to her than I'd seen him do with anyone he'd dated before, and well, I was pretty transparent myself when it came to Bella.

"How's that going so far?" I asked Jasper and nodded to where Al was out on the dance floor.

"So far, so good. Just taking things as they come and letting it happen naturally," he replied.

"Amen to that," Rose and Emmett chimed at the same time before taking a swig of their beers.

I was about to ask Jasper more about her when Emmett interrupted my thoughts by growling, "Oh hell no. Edward, man, you best go do something about that shit, right the fuck now."

"What?" I asked searching his face for some clue as to what he was talking about.

"Look," Rose sneered and pointed out towards the dance floor.

What I saw pissed me off to no end. I had only taken my eyes off of Bella for a few moments and that was all the time it had taken for Luke Mathews to move in on my girl.

I had been ready to rip his damn head off the other night in the library, but Bella seemed to have some attachment to him. What I didn't know, but I was certain kicking his ass would have only made things worse than they already were with her.

I watched as the bastard had the nerve to put his fucking hands on her. He had been dancing in the same area as her before, but he hadn't been touching her or really even dancing with her. Now he was behind her and had his hands on her hips with her pulled back against him, and grinding against her.

"Well?" Rose glared at me. "You just gonna sit there and let him feel her up in front of everyone on the dance floor, or are you going to get your stubborn ass out there and do something about it?" She cocked her eyebrow in the scariest bitch brow I'd ever seen and continued to shoot daggers at me from her eyes.

After downing the rest of my water in one swallow and taking another look out to the dance floor, I was sure I'd seen the fucker smirk at me as he spun Bella around so that both their backs were to me.

"Fuck no," I growled. It was as if some internal switch had been flipped in me. As if my body were on autopilot I quickly slammed the empty bottle down on the table and made my way out to where Bella was dancing.

As I approached them Bella still had her back to me, but Luke had turned so he was facing her and was looking right at me. He must have seen the anger I felt burning in me as I stared at him, because the sly smirk he was wearing faded the second his eyes locked with mine, causing him to remove his hands from her hips instantly. Good thing he did too, because the lusty way he'd been looking at _my_ Bella, he was lucky I didn't knock the fuck out of him right here, right now.

Not even waiting for him to back completely away from her, I placed my left hand on her hip and slid my other hand around her waist and pulled her back against me. She tensed slightly at first, but as if she knew it was me she relaxed and started moving to the beat of the music with me.

She responded by leaning back into my body. I looked down and watched her eyes close and a smile form on her face as we started to move our hips and feet in sync to the beat of Usher's "Scream".

We continued on like this through the rest of the song and the next one too. It felt as if our bodies were perfectly in tune with each other's. It felt indescribable to have her in my arms, to have my hands on her, dancing with her like this. For each move I made, she followed and when I spun her around and pulled her up against my chest, she felt so warm and it was invigorating. I could have stayed like that with her forever.

I could feel our chests brushing against each other to the rhythm of our breathing, which was gaining speed the longer we stared into each other's eyes.

Unable to resist her any longer, removing my hands from her hips I reached up to cup her face. Holding her in place I leaned in and kissed her with everything I had. I kissed her hard, passionately, pouring all the emotions that were surging through me at the moment into the kiss. Everything around us faded away as if we were the only two people in the place. The music had become nothing more than a dull thud in the background as our mouths moved together hungrily but in perfect harmony.

Bella's hands had grabbed on to my shirt and she was holding me to her as if she was holding on for dear life. Her lips were so warm and soft and I couldn't get enough of them. It was by far the best kiss I'd ever had and it had been far too long since I'd kissed her. I never wanted this moment to end. However far too soon we had to pull apart for air.

"Bella," I whispered and placed another soft kiss on her lips.

"Edward, I…I" and before she could say anything else she was running away from me.

"Bella, wait up," I hollered so there was a chance she'd hear me over the music. But even if she had, she kept on running.

I took off after her. I didn't know what I had done to cause her to run off like she did and I had to find out. I made it to the front entrance in just enough time to see her slip out the door.

Following after her, I called out to her again, "Bella, please stop."

She did, but only to start pacing back and forth between two parked cars. When I got closer to her, I could see her wrapping and unwrapping her hair around her hand again and again as she continued to pace.

"Bella, what's wrong? What did I do?" I asked, grabbing a hold of her and forcing her to stop where she was. "I thought we were having a good time. Please, talk to me."

Her head snapped up and her eyes locked on mine. I could see many emotions flowing across her face and in her eyes before she finally spoke. "What are we doing, Edward?" she asked in demanding voice that took me by surprise.

"What do you mean what are we doing? I thought we were dancing, having a good time."

"No. Not here tonight…well that too, but I mean, you and me," she said pointing at herself and then me. "What's happening?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Bella," I answered still not sure what she was getting at.

"Then let me spell it out for you. What I want to know is, have you made a decision about us yet?"

"No."

"Well don't you think it's time you did? I know I told you that I would give you all the time you needed, but I can't do that anymore, Edward. I can't play these games anymore."

"Games? What are you talking about, Bella?"

"For the past week, you've been bouncing me back and forth between your hot and cold mood swings and I can't take it anymore. The other day at the hospital, you flirted with me right there in front of my classmates and yours. Then at the mall you were all warm and fuzzy and couldn't keep your hands off me."

I looked up at her and saw fire and determination burning in her eyes. I hadn't realized she'd felt me touching her at the mall. But I should have known she would. We'd always had an uncanny connection flowing between us and if my touch caused a reaction in her anything like hers did to me, then she most definitely would have felt it.

She must have seen the realization come over me. "Yes, Edward, I felt your thumb and your hand brushing against me at the mall, just like I felt your leg rubbing against mine at the library too. And that was a wonderful night until you flipped out."

"Yeah, well I didn't like the way Luke kept drooling over you and you sure weren't doing anything to stop him, just like you didn't do anything to stop him from putting his hands on you tonight," I threw back at her.

"He's a friend and that's it. Yes, he might want more, but he knows how I feel. He knows how I feel about you. I've been very clear with him about it."

"Really, cuz it sure didn't look that way to me."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I knew you were watching me, Edward? That I wanted a reaction out of you?"

"Why would you do that? Do you realize how close I was to introducing him to my fist?" I barked at her. "Fuck, Bella," I shouted as I let go of her, moved back a step and scrubbed my hands over my face. "I can't stand the thought of his hands being on you."

"Then it looks like you have a choice to make." She paused and sucked in a couple of long breaths and then took a step closer to me, placing her hand on my chest. "I love you, Edward, but I can't keep doing this, it hurts too bad when you act like things are perfect, like you did at the library and like you did tonight and then you pull away from me. I can't keep going on like this."

"You're the one who pulled away tonight, Bella," he interjected.

"I know I did, but don't you see I had to? You haven't decided what you want, so how much longer will it be before you pull away again?

"This up and down, back and forth, isn't good for either of us and I think I've been pretty clear on what I want so now it's up to you. You can love me, hate me, or even judge me for the things I've done. I only kept the things I did from you to protect you, Edward. All I ask is that whatever you choose to do, you do it honestly. Make sure it's what you really want because you're the one that has to live with your choice at the end of the day.

"I'll give you a little more time, but, Edward, I can't—no I _won't_ keep waiting forever, and if you decide that you can't be with me, then…" her voice faltered and she sucked in a long breath of air, quickly blowing it back out, like she was warring within herself over her emotions. "…then I'll leave you alone and you can go on as if I never existed."

Without another word, she turned and walked away, leaving me standing there in the parking lot with my mind reeling as she made her way back into the club.

I suddenly felt cold and alone, as though I was lost, standing in the middle of nowhere and my last hope for rescue had just left. I longed to have Bella back in my arms, to feel her warmth against me. I hadn't realized how I had been confusing Bella with my actions. How I had been hurting her.

Had I really been stringing her along these past few weeks? If so it wasn't intentional. I'd never meant to hurt her, but I obviously had.

Her words echoed in my head, _"I love you, Edward, but I can't do this anymore. I can't keep going on like this_, _it hurts too bad when you act like things are perfect, like you did at the library and like you did tonight and then you pull away from me. I can't keep going on like this…I'll leave you alone and you can go on as if I never existed." _

Could I do that? Could I let her go and pretend as if she'd never come into my life? She'd said she loved me. Had I underestimated the depth of her feelings for me? Maybe I had. I had been so close to saying those words to her twice. Twice they had nearly slipped out. Was that what these feelings I had for her were? Was it truly how I felt about her? And if so why hadn't I made up my mind yet? Why was I still procrastinating?

_Time to manup, Cullen, _I told myself.

Bella had clearly reached her breaking point and I didn't know how much time I had left. Hopefully I would figure things out before it was too late.

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What'd ya think? Is it time for Stretch to pull his head out of his ass and go get his girl? Can't wait to see what everyone thinks!

Don't forget to hop on over to my blog and check out what all the girls wore to the club.

Thanks for reading!

EA


	17. Wake Up Call

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

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**Hi Everyone. I hope you are all enjoying your Friday night so far. When we last left off, Bella had just told Edward he needed to make a decision. I know that many of you don't understand why or what is taking Edward so long. Yes he has dragged his feet a bit, but I just wanted to point out that, though it might seem as though it's been much longer due to my posting schedule, in their time frame in the story, it has only been ten days since Edward and Bella have talked and he's learned everything from her about why she hid who she was. Hopefully this chapter clears up why it's been so hard for him to make a decision. **

**See ya at the bottom. Enjoy!**

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**Still September 23, 2011**

***{Edward}***

I stood there leaning against some stranger's car wondering how things had become such a mess. How my relationship with Bella had gotten to this point. I rubbed my hand over the top of my head, wanting to pull on the hair I no longer had.

"Damnit," I muttered to myself as my hand dropped and landed on the hood of the car with a loud thud.

How had the six perfect weeks I'd spent with a girl who I'd thought was perfect in nearly every way gone so wrong? And how the hell did I fix it? How did I get us back to the way we were? Because even though I had dragged my feet on doing anything about getting us there, it was what I wanted. However I still had some issues I needed to resolve and let go of and that was what was holding me back.

Sighing I pulled myself off the car to make my way back inside. I was torn between staying here for Rose and celebrating her birthday, or leaving to have some time to myself so I could try and sort through the mess I'd made of my relationship with Bella. Hopefully Rose wouldn't be too upset, because as I walked across the parking lot towards the entrance of the club I became convinced I needed to get out of here.

Reaching out to pull the door open I heard my name.

"Cullen!" I looked to my left, where I'd heard the low gruff voice coming from and saw Luke about five feet away, walking around the corner of the building.

I took in his stance as he got closer to me. His arms were hanging at his sides, slightly stiff as he opened and closed his hands into fists, like he was itching to hit something.

_Probably me, _I thought.

Lifting my gaze to his face, his expression was hard and his jaw tight from mashing his teeth together. He stopped about a foot away from me, bringing his hands up in front of him and cracking his knuckles. Clearly he was trying to intimidate me.

_Who the hell did he think he was? It was going to take more than that to rattle my cage._

"Mathews, what do you want?" I asked, wanting to get this confrontation with him over. He'd obviously been waiting for me.

"What I want is for you to quit jerking Bella around," he spat at me.

"I don't see where what's going on between me and Bella is any of your business," I shot back at him.

"She's my friend. I've made it my business. I don't like the way you're treating her, hurting her."

"Don't you mean you've stuck your nose in where it doesn't belong because you want her for yourself? Come on, we both know you're just dying to get your hands on her. Waiting on the sideline, pretending to be the caring friend, all while dying for me to fuck it up beyond repair, or cut her loose so you can be there to play the good guy and pick up the pieces."

_He might have Bella fooled, but not me._

"You're not far off…from fucking it up beyond repair that is. And maybe about what I want too," he admitted with a sly smirk. "You keep going on like you have been and I'll win for sure. So maybe I should encourage you to keep being a jackass."

"Listen, fucker," I snarled, stepping closer to him and getting in his face, my own hands balling into fists now. "This isn't a game. Bella isn't some prize for you to claim. She's not some dimwitted, cheerleader type who's happy to be arm candy for a jock like some of the other girls you've dated."

Luke wasn't a bad guy, I'd known him for a while, but I'd seen the type of girls he'd dated in the past. They might not have been as shallow as his sister, but they were still spoiled little rich girls who'd be content being the socialite wife of a big time athlete, doctor, or wealthy businessman. I had gone on a couple of dates with one or two of them while I'd still been playing basketball. I had experienced firsthand what those girls were looking for and I wasn't judging them for how they chose to live their lives—they were products of the environments they'd been brought up in—but they were so far from who Bella was that they might as well have been from a different planet.

My mind suddenly flashed to the argument I'd witnessed between Bella and her mother the night of the Black and White Ball. Her words came back to me, "_You can't tell me who I can and can't associate with…The Cullens are wonderful, caring and compassionate people and there is nothing you can do to stop me from feeling that way."_

My next thought was of what my parents had said about Bella when I'd told them who she really was. _"You can't fake the kind of caring and compassion she showed to those people, Son. She has a gift and it's a natural one. It's not one that comes with being trained or schooled in how to act and what to say. The kind of caring and compassion she showed the people of the DR can only come from within a person who truly cares about helping those in need… You also can't fake the way she was with you either…The kind of connection you had can't be faked either."_

No, Bella wasn't anything like Luke's past girlfriends. I really had been blind like my mother had said. Bella had beaten the odds of the environment she'd been raised in. She would want to be with someone who had similar interests to hers, someone who took joy in the simple things in life, someone who material things didn't matter to, and someone who could make her laugh. _Someone like—me._ That thought hit me like a ton of bricks.

She had walked away from her family and her means of paying for her education in defense of me and my family.

_I've been so fucking stupid. I've got to be able to fix this. _

"You act like you know so much about her, Cullen. You've known her for what four, five months? I hardly think you know her much better than I do," he sneered.

Luke cracked his knuckles again. Did he really think he was scaring me? Did he really think his macho act would win Bella over for him? He must be delusional. Even if I failed at winning her back, she wouldn't want someone who thought he could solve things with his fists.

"That's where you'd be wrong. I may not have known her much longer than you, but you didn't spend nearly every waking moment with her for weeks. You didn't sleep next her every night during those same weeks, listen to her talk about wanting to become a nurse, and about how she wanted to help people and why. You've never heard the passion in her voice when she talks about her hopes and dreams for her future," I informed him. "I have."

_Why the hell hadn't I seen how stupid I've been sooner?_

"For someone who claims to know her so well, you've sure been dragging your feet. If you know her so well, then you should know how truly sorry she is for keeping who she is from you. It shouldn't be so hard for you to know whether you still want to be with her or not."

"You're right about that and I am going to try my damnedest to make it right with her. So if we are done here, I'm going to go so I can get to doing that." Without waiting for him to reply, I moved to pull open the door.

"One more thing, Cullen," Luke said.

I turned back around to face him and was promptly met with his fist colliding with my jaw.

"What the fuck, man?" I asked rubbing where he'd hit me.

"That was for Bella," he said in a warning tone. "That was for being a jackass in the library the other night. If she was my girlfriend, I'd have never walked away and left her with another guy. And it was also for making her cry tonight and to remind you that I _will _be there for her if you fuck this up completely."

"Not gonna happen."

"We'll see," he challenged and turned, walking off across the parking lot.

My thoughts were a jumbled mess by the time I reached the table where Jasper and Emmett were waiting for me.

I could now see that Luke wasn't just playing to make me jealous where Bella was concerned. He really wanted her.

I was going to lose Bella for good if I didn't fix things soon. And in all honesty, I didn't want to lose her, I still cared for her deeply. But I couldn't figure out how to let go of what had happened and trust her again. Because trust was what had been holding me back and now I was beginning to think I had severely over reacted to the whole incident. Beginning to think that I was the only one who had made such a big deal out of the situation.

Remembering what my parents had thought, knowing they believed Bella to be truthful in why she had held the truth from me and knowing they valued honesty as much as I did, after all they had instilled it in me, was really throwing me for a loop.

"What the hell happened out there?" Jasper barked. "One minute you and Bella are all over each other on the dance floor, looking so hot you could combust any second and then you're both running out the door. Next thing we know Bella is in here in tears and Alice is telling me she has to leave with Bella. So what gives? What the fuck happened between you two?"

I rubbed my hand across my now tender jaw. "I fucked up. I've made a huge mess of things."

"No shit, Sherlock," Emmett chortled. "Question is, what do you intend to do to fix it?"

"I don't know. I don't even know where to begin," I told them honestly.

"Well," jasper said, "You do want to fix things right? You do want to be with Bella, right?"

"Yes," I said instantly, without any hesitation, surprising even myself a little at how easy the answer had come. I'd known I didn't want to lose her, but I had never declared it before and it actually felt really good to do.

"Then start by going to her, telling her the truth about how you feel. Quit pussy-footing around it. If you have reservations about anything, then talk to her about them. Whatever you do, just be honest with her."

I nodded knowing he was right, and remembering that Bella had said the same thing to me. She had asked that I just simply be honest with her.

"I think I'm going to take off. I've got to sort through things in my head and then talk to Bella."

"You should say goodbye to Rose before you go," Jasper suggested. "She's over by the bar with a couple of her friends."

"Is she gonna be pissed I'm bailing on her party?" I asked him.

"Not if you let her know why you're leaving. She might not like it, but she'll understand," he said.

"Okay, then I'll catch the two of you later."

"Good luck, man," Emmett said as I stood to leave.

"Yeah, you're gonna need it," Jasper added.

I grabbed my jacket off the chair I'd been sitting in and sifted through the crowed dance floor until I reached Rose.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" I asked her when she noticed me walking up to her.

"Sure," she replied before telling her friends she'd be right back. She followed me outside to the parking lot. "You leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah, I need to figure out how to sort out the mess I've made with Bella."

"It's about time you pulled your head out of your ass," she snapped.

"I know, Rose, I know. I hadn't seen before how I'd fucked things up but I do now," I told her.

"Is being with her what you really want?"

"Yeah, it is," I told her a little surprised she'd asked. "Why? You don't think I'm making a mistake, do you?"

"The question is, do _you_, Edward?"

"No. I know I've made a mess of things, waiting so long, but I've never stopped caring for her."

"I just want to make sure that you really want to be with her, not that you just don't want anyone else to have her."

"Can't it be both?" I asked.

"Well yes, if the reason you don't want anyone else to have her is because you have real feelings for her."

"I do."

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at me for a minute like she was gauging the sincerity of my words. "Then I suggest you go after Bella and fix things with her. Your ship of opportunity is going to sail away soon. If you wait too long someone else will snatch her up, she'll move on and it will be too late."

I nodded in agreement knowing that was exactly what Luke was waiting for and felt my shoulders slump as I really realized for the first time that I could lose Bella. I didn't want that to happen. "You're talking about Luke Mathews, the guy she was dancing with tonight."

"Yes, I saw her dancing with him tonight and I saw you fisting your hands like you wanted to go beat the shit out of him. I don't blame you for that, but here's a news flash, cousin, he's not the only one."

"What are you talking about, Rosalie?"

She laughed sarcastically and shook her head at me. "You really don't know?"

"No so why don't you enlighten me."

"You weren't the only one who couldn't keep your eyes off of her. In fact Luke wasn't the only one besides you. There were several guys eye-fucking her, Edward, but I guess with the horse blinders you've had on, you wouldn't notice. You'd only see the threat that was right in front of you."

"I've been pretty dumb haven't I?" I asked with my head hanging, my gaze fixated on the ground.

"Well…I may not be Einstein, but I know lately dumb plus dumb equals you," she said with a chuckle before adding, "But lucky for you, it's not too late."

Feeling more insecure than I ever had, I couldn't help asking her, "What if you're wrong? What if it's too late already? Maybe she's already moving on. She didn't seem too upset about the way Luke was dancing with her."

Rose sighed and shook her head at me. "Dancing at a club with a guy doesn't mean she's moving on. I suspect more than anything she wanted to get a reaction out of you, which she did. There's still time, but it won't last forever."

_God I hoped so._

"Look," Rose said placing her hand in a reassuring way on my shoulder. "Yes she danced with him and she was probably having fun. But when you went out there, you could instantly see the change in her body language. She knew it was you immediately. And my God, Edward, the two of you might as well have been going at it right there on the dance floor with the amount of sexual energy coming off the two of you. I've never seen two people move so completely in sync with one another before. I don't know how you guys didn't spontaneously combust with all that chemistry. So yeah, maybe she was having fun with Luke, but that's all it was. There was no chemistry, cousin. Fun. Nothing more."

"Okay," I said softly, trying to believe in what she was saying.

_When the hell had I become so uncertain and such a jealous bastard?_

"Okay?" she asked cocking her eyebrow at me. "What's holding you back, Edward? Why do you have so much doubt?"

"She lied to me, Rose," I told her blowing out a long breath of frustration. "I spent six perfect weeks with her, spending nearly every waking minute with her, thinking I'd met the most amazing, perfect and perfect for me girl and then she lied to me, Rose. Do you understand the shock and hurt I felt when I found out?"

She rolled her eyes at me, causing me to feel irritated.

"What?" I huffed. "Are you going to tell me I shouldn't be upset that she lied to me?"

I turned and started to pace back forth in front of her. After three or four passes I stopped, raising my hand and letting it fall and smack against my thigh a couple of times. I didn't know what to say to her. So I just stood there waiting to see if she was going to explain herself.

When she didn't say anything I decided to prompt her a little. "Well?"

"Well what?" she shot back at me.

"Am I just supposed to forget she lied to me?" I asked slightly annoyed.

"Technically she didn't lie. She omitted. And your problem is that you put her on a damn pedestal, Edward."

"What?"

"Think about what you just said to me. You just told me that you spent six _perfect_ weeks with her thinking she was the _perfect_ girl and _perfect_ for you. You put her on a pedestal and when you found out about her last name, she fell off and yes it turned your world upside down because you had an unrealistic image of her. No one is perfect, Edward. We're only human. We all make mistakes."

My head started spinning with Rose's words. Had I really done that? In my excitement over meeting someone who was so real, so down to earth, who had similar interests as me and who on top of all that was so incredibly smart, caring and beautiful, had I held her to unrealistic expectations?

"Fuck," I muttered as the weight of what I'd done hit me.

"You did, didn't you?" she asked. "You're seeing it now."

"Yeah I am." I sighed and scrubbed my hands back and forth over my face. "How did you figure it out so easily?"

"When you first told Jasper and me about her in the hospital waiting room, you were singing her praises. Shit you practically had her walking on water, going on and on about how impressed you were that someone her age would willingly give up her summer to help those in need. How amazing she was. And just now when you started going on about perfect this and perfect that, it just clicked in my head."

"But she could have told me, Rose. I thought she knew how much I cared about her and that she could have trusted me."

"She did know how much you cared about her and I believe she cares just as much about you, which is exactly why she did what she did. She did it to protect you."

"That's what she said."

"Then do you see why she did what she did? She wanted to be treated like everyone else and to do some good. She didn't want to look like she was only doing it for her father's gain.

"Can you imagine what kind of shit storm it would have created if her father had known what she was doing for the summer? You saw the mass amounts of news people and camera crews that were outside the hospital and funeral home before and after Granddad passed. I know you are new to all of this media crap, but it _is_ just like she told you. Her father would have used it to boost his campaign. You might have been oblivious to the political commercials and bullshit before, but you can't tell me that you are now.

"Yeah sure maybe the attention might have brought some more aid to those poor people who'd lost so much. But tell me this. If you had known who her father was, and I don't mean the fact he's running against my father, leave the family issue out of it for now. But if you had known who she really was, would you have believed that she was really there because she wanted to be? That she wasn't doing it for her father, or didn't want the life of a spoiled, pampered, rich girl?"

"No," I told her honestly because I wouldn't have paid hardly two seconds of attention on Bella if I had known who she was.

"Answer me this, have you ever given any thought to how your father's position at Hopkins could help boost your career there?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because that's not who I am. I busted my ass to get the grades I needed to do it on my own. On my own merit."

"Well from everything Alice has told me about Bella and everything I have seen for myself, that is exactly what she wants too. What you keep forgetting, Edward, is that she didn't keep who she was from you to be deceitful or malicious. She did it so she could do _good_. And do it on her own, without the help of her father. Because let's face it, she probably could have milked her father's influence for all sorts of perks—better sleeping conditions, better food, and so on if she had wanted to. But she chose not to.

"Think about all she stood to lose. She would have been shipped back to the states, charged with fraud, and then had to deal with her parents. I imagine she'll still have to come clean to the Red Cross if she ever hopes to volunteer again. She risked a great deal to spend her summer helping others. I don't know anyone else who would have done that. Do you?"

"No. I see what you are saying. I really do. But how do I know I can trust that she won't ever keep anything from me again?"

"You don't. There's no way you can for sure unless you take the chance to find out. You have to determine if you want to be with her badly enough to take that risk. Me, Em, Jas, or your parents, we can all tell you that we think it'd be worth the risk—that _she's_ worth it. But at the end of the day you have to be happy with the decision you make and have to live with it. So you are the only one who can decide that."

I thought about what she'd said for a few moments.

"I can see your wheels spinning. Let me put it to you like this. Are you ready to walk away for good? Say goodbye to her permanently? If not, then you have your answer."

Again I thought about what Rose had said and it was easy for me to answer her this time.

"No I'm not ready to say goodbye to her. When we were dancing, I felt alive, whole again for the first time since I left her in the DR."

"Then go get your girl, Edward. Tell her everything you told me tonight. Be honest with her and tell her everything. If the two of you want this bad enough, you can get past what's happened. Oh and make sure you let her know that you love her."

"What?"

"Tell her you love her, you big dummy," she ordered while giving me a shove.

"I don't even know if I do." Despite having almost said it twice to her, I wasn't sure if I loved her or the idea of her.

"Oh please, Edward. It's plain as day that you love her and she loves you too. But you wanna know something else?"

"Does it matter? You're gonna tell me anyways," I said with a chuckle.

"You're in love with her and it scares the hell out of you. And I think that's a bigger issue than her lying, omitting, or whatever you want to call it. I don't know if someone did a number on you or if you've never felt anything like what you feel for her before. Maybe it's both. But whatever the reason is, you love her and you are scared shitless to admit it."

"Maybe, but that's all I am gonna give ya."

"That's enough. It's written all over you face. I knew you loved her when you were raving about her in the hospital. Go. Talk to her, Edward. Soon, before it's too late. Listen to her and then tell her. I'd be shocked if she turned you away."

I stood there for a minute and thought back over everything Rose had just said. She was right and I knew she was. I only had one choice if I didn't want to lose Bella forever.

"I will. I promise," I told her, pulling her to me for a hug. "Thank you."

She snorted as she hugged me back and said, "You're welcome. Now stop acting like a girl and go get yours back or I'm gonna bill ya for my advice."

"You do that," I told her with a snort of my own.

"Better listen or I just might. Now if we're done here, I have a boyfriend and a party to get back to."

"Yeah we're good. Thanks again, Rose. I really mean that."

"Well it's about time you got your head out of your ass. It's not a hat you know." Rose just stood there with a huge shit-eating, wide, toothy grin on her face.

"Always such a smart ass?" I replied, grinning right back at her.

"Better than a dumb ass I always say. Now go, get out of here."

"I'm going, I'm going," I laughed as I backed away from her before turning around and jogging to my jeep. For the first time in weeks I was feeling like I was on the right track. Now all I had to do was figure out when to talk to Bella.

***{Bella}***

"Bell, are you sure you don't want us to hang here with you for a while?" Al asked as she stood next to Sky in the doorway to my room.

"I'm sure. I just really want some time to myself right now," I told her as I unzipped my boots and pulled them off.

I knew Al and Sky meant well and I knew Al especially was worried about me. Worried I was about to fall to pieces, but I wasn't…At least not yet.

"Okay, sweetie," she said walking over to give me a hug. "Call me if you need me."

"I will. I promise," I replied hugging her back.

Sky followed Al out after assuring me she'd be in her room if I needed her and offering to share her stash of junk food.

When my door clicked signaling it was shut and I was alone, I stripped out of the clothes I'd worn to the club and put on a pair of leggings, a tank top and wrapped myself in Edward's flannel shirt before flopping down on my bean bag chair.

I sat there with my legs pulled against my chest and my chin resting on my knees. The window sill was just low enough that in my position I could stare out at the campus grounds. Occasionally I'd hear a loud whistle of someone trying to get the attention of someone else, or the voices of a group of students horsing around as they passed by, along with a car driving by now and then. For the most part the campus was quiet tonight, which left me alone with my thoughts.

For a while I was grateful for the quiet. It allowed me to reflect on what had happened tonight. Never in a million years had I seen myself having to give Edward an ultimatum. He had come on so fast and so heavy tonight he'd had my head spinning in excitement, desire, and confusion. And after all of his hot and cold, roller coaster behavior this past week, I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't go on not knowing what he wanted. I didn't think Edward was by any means purposefully leading me on, but his indecision was causing him to do just that whether it was his intention or not.

Dealing with all his flirtatious behavior and his moody tantrums had been hard enough, but when he had pulled me to him and kissed me with so much passion and I'd felt his body reacting to that kiss, showing me he clearly at least desired me physically, I knew I had to have some answers. It would have been far too easy to get swept away in those feelings and let go. However if I allowed myself to get carried away with him and things didn't work out between us, it would be even harder to walk away and more painful to get over. As it was I knew deep down inside that Edward Cullen had etched himself on my heart so deeply that there'd always be a little piece of it lost to him no matter what happened between us.

Swiping away a couple of tears with the hem of Edward's flannel shirt, I knew I had to get up and do something or I was going to end up sitting here crying all night.

I set my sights on straightening up my room. I put away the laundry I had folded yesterday, picked up the various pieces of dirty clothes that were scattered about in my room and changed the sheets on my bed. After that I wiped down my bathroom and once I was done I decided to try and read a book. I pulled off the shelf the first book in my favorite series where vampires were descended from Angels, and laid across my bed with it.

A half hour later, when I realized I'd read the same paragraph four times, I gave up on reading. For some crazy reason I next chose to try and do some homework. That went about as well as the reading had.

"Ugh," I groaned loudly, slamming my anatomy book closed and shoving it to the floor. I must have been out of my freaking mind to think I could do anything that required even a minimal amount of real concentration right now.

I was actually feeling a little tired from all the crying I'd done after I'd confronted Edward and just from all the pure emotional strain this whole situation was causing, so I crawled up on my bed after tugging off my leggings and slipped under my covers. Hugging my "e" pillow close to my chest, I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep.

Unfortunately I did nothing but toss and turn as thoughts of Edward kept bombarding me.

"Jesus, Bella, you're wound so tightly you can't even sleep," I mumbled out loud to myself.

_That's because you have Edward on the brain._

"Great, now you're having a conversation with yourself."

There had to be something I could do to expel this pent up bundle of frustrated energy that was overwhelming me.

Rolling over and glancing at my alarm clock, I saw it was getting close to ten-thirty, which by most college kids' standards, wasn't late at all. In fact from what I'd heard of college life, that was when things were really just getting going at most campuses on the weekend.

Knowing that there was plenty of on-campus security patrolling the grounds and probably plenty of other students out and about, along with the fact that I hadn't had the chance to really get out and see much of the campus, I decided that now was the time. I was going to go for a walk. Hopefully by the time I got back, I'd be even more tired and my mind would allow me to get some sleep.

I got up and pulled on my favorite pair of jeans and my converse. After digging around through my stuff I found the can of pepper spray that Al's dad had given us before we'd left for the summer. I shoved my iPhone into the back pocket of my jeans and my dorm key and the pepper spray into the front pockets then scribbled Sky a note and left it on my bed in case she came in to check on me.

I cracked myself up at the way I tiptoed out of the dorm suite and bolted for the elevator, forcing me to clap my hand over my mouth to keep Sky from hearing me. I just didn't want her to try and talk me out of going or to insist on coming with me.

Stepping out into the cool night, I sucked in a long breath of air and looked back and forth a couple of times before settling on going towards the park that was near the far corner of the campus. I briefly thought about heading back up and asking Sky to come with me, but squashed that thought as quickly as it had sprung, really still wanting to be alone and hopefully clear my head.

As much as I appreciated her and Al being there for me and supporting me through everything that had happened since Edward found out about me, sorting through my thoughts and emotions was something I needed to do on my own for now. My thoughts were bouncing around in my brain like a ping pong ball powered by the energizer bunny; I knew if I needed my friends, they'd be there for me.

Al knew me better than anyone and Sky was getting there, but while I knew Al would be completely honest with me no matter if she knew she was going to tell me something I didn't want to hear, I wasn't so sure about Sky. She had appeared to be on Luke's side more than once and I didn't want there to be any chance for her to try and interfere on Luke's behalf.

Thinking back over the night I couldn't help worrying if I had made the right choice tonight in pushing Edward to make a choice like I had. I couldn't help worrying if it would come back to bite me on the ass. I'd known he was going to have a hard time accepting what I'd done. It wasn't so much about the time he was taking to decide, it was the fact he was sending me very mixed messages. Although I guess I understood his sea-sawing behaviors somewhat. He was jealous of Luke and felt threatened by my friendship with him. Al had made sure I was aware of that on our way home from the club tonight and I had already suspected as much with the way he'd been watching us at the library the other night.

Luke had been right when he'd said Edward had been shooting daggers at him, with the looks he had given him. And I'd be lying if I said I hadn't enjoyed it just a little bit. For Edward to have been so outwardly jealous showed he still had some very real feelings for me.

But that was also the most frustrating part of it all. If he still had such strong feelings for me, then why couldn't he make a decision? My anger was really more because he was giving me the impression that he wanted to be with me, but wasn't saying the words—making the commitment to be with me. It made me feel like he was testing me or keeping me just close enough that I wouldn't move on and so no one else could have me either. As much as I hated the thought of losing him, I didn't think it was so wrong to want him to be all in or not at all. It was because of that, that even though it may have been a risk to push him, I felt that I had done the right thing.

I stopped when I came to a corner and my thoughts were interrupted by the repetitive thumping coming from across the street. I couldn't see through the fence due to the mesh that was woven between the chain links of the metal fence, but I did see a basketball come up in the air and slice through the net below it, telling me that there was a court behind the fence. For some reason I found myself being pulled like a magnet to see who was shooting hoops this time of the night and began to make my way over to it.

***{Edward}***

After getting home from the club, I'd gone out on the balcony to stare out at the harbor. It was quiet and peaceful out here, especially at night and I'd always found the sounds of the water lapping the dock to be soothing. And tonight it was just the setting I needed to delve into my head and make some sense of all the thoughts I had flooding my mind.

"Penny for your thoughts," my mom said as she slid the door open wider so she could step out on the balcony with me.

"I don't even know where to begin, Mom," I replied with a long sigh.

"Well the beginning is usually a good place."

I chuckled at her attempt to lighten my mood and asked, "Are you sure you want to hear about it? I've made a huge mess and I'm not sure how to clean it up."

"Why don't you fill me in and maybe I can help?" she suggested.

Over the next several minutes I filled her in on all that had happened since Bella had told me everything about her last name.

She had been quiet as she took in what I had told her, only nodding here and there a couple of times, but I could see that she was contemplating her response as she gazed out at the harbor and tapped her fingers against the balcony rail. It was her tell. Whenever my mother was thinking about something and picking out what she was going to say, she would always tap her fingers on any nearby surface.

When she was ready to talk, she pushed away from the rail and turned sideways to face me. The look on her face told me that she was about to confirm what I already knew. "Go ahead, Mom, you can say it. I know I've really fucked things up."

"If you want my advice you'll watch you language, Edward Anthony," she warned me.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Yes you have made things…more…difficult than they probably had to be. But I don't think you have ruined your chances with Bella."

"Really?" I asked hopeful she was right.

"Yes," she said with a short chuckle. She turned to face me and then gave my hand a gently squeeze of reassurance. "If Bella didn't still want to be with you, she wouldn't have told you to make a decision. She'd have simply told you it was over and been done with it. The fact she is still giving you a choice says she still wants things to work out. What you need to decide is what you want. Do you know?"

"Yes. I want to be with her. I really do. But…"

"But what? Are you still upset over her not telling you who her father was?" she asked with a slight air of shock in her voice.

"No. I mean sure I don't like that she never told me earlier and I've had some thoughts about worrying if I can trust her. But after hearing the whole story I can understand why she felt the need to do things like she did. And after talking to Rose tonight and her telling me that I had to decide if being with Bella was worth the risk, I know that Bella is. I just don't know how to fix it. I don't know where to start," I explained.

She laughed softly and patted my arm. "You sound like you did when you didn't know how to tell your coach you were quitting basketball."

Running my hand back and forth over my head a few times, I sighed and said, "Funny you should mention that."

"Why?"

"My quitting basketball was something I was just thinking about before you came out here. It helped me make my mind up about Bella for certain," I told her. "Well that and some of the things that Rosalie said to me."

Her eyebrow was arched high, giving me a look of curiosity, maybe even a little disbelief. "Your cousin gave you some good advice from what you've told me. However, you've really got me intrigued with this business of using basketball to make a decision about a girl. I really want to hear all about it but I'm thirsty and was on my way to get something to drink when I saw you out here. So let's go inside and you can explain."

I nodded and slid the door open, allowing her to go in first. I paused at the door just long enough to slide it shut and lock it, before joining my mother as she'd requested.

She walked across the room and behind the counter, opening the fridge and pulling two bottles of water out. After twisting the cap off the first one she passed it to me and then did the same for hers.

I thanked her and sat down on one of the stools at the counter while she leaned against it on the other side.

"Now please enlighten me, Son," she insisted after taking a drink of her water.

I proceeded to tell her about how Rosalie thought I loved Bella and that it scared me and how I had to be the one to decide what I did about my relationship with Bella because I was the one who had to live with the choice. I told her how it was similar to what both her and my dad had said to me in regards to quitting basketball.

"Yes I remember that conversation well," she said before asking, "How does that relate to Bella?"

"It got me thinking about some other things in my life that I've loved and didn't think I'd ever be able to live without, but did."

"So you're saying it made you think about whether or not you could live without Bella in your life?" she questioned.

"Yes, that's exactly what it did. And, Mom, you know how hard it was for me to give up playing ball. Up until the point when I was faced with quitting, I'd never thought it was something I could do. But I did and I've not regretted it. I know it was what was best for me and my future. It wasn't easy by any means, but I wouldn't go back and change it if I could."

"And what about Bella? Can you let her go…For good?"

"No. I don't think I can."

"You don't _think_ you can? You _must_ be more certain than that or you'll be setting up yourself and Bella for the possibility of being hurt again."

"Would it make you feel better if I said I don't want to let her go?"

"Yes. Can you tell me why you don't want to?"

"I love her, Mom. I didn't really realize it before I talked to Rose tonight. I mean I had been questioning my feelings for her, but I wasn't sure. But even while I've been mad and upset with her about not telling me everything, she's still all I can think about most days. Even when I'm up to my ears in homework, thoughts of her and how much I've missed her still manage to sneak in on me. And you know what? I don't mind. Thinking of her makes me happy."

"Why do I sense there's still a 'but' in there somewhere? If you've missed her so much and feel so strongly about her, what's taken you so long to want to mend things with her?" she asked.

I blew out a long breath and let my head fall forward onto my arm resting on the counter.

"Edward," my mother said softly. "You've already admitted you love her and figured out that you want to be with her. I would think that's the hard part. What has you so torn up inside?"

Looking up I replied, "It's just…I've never felt anything like this before. It's so strong…my feelings for her are so overwhelming. Even before we left the DR it was hard for me to comprehend how fast my feelings for her developed and how strong they were nearly instantly."

"I see. And that scares you," she stated plain as day, like it didn't surprise her at all.

I nodded.

"I'm not surprised," she admitted, confirming what I'd thought.

"Why not?"

"Because not only are you experiencing love for the first time, you are also experiencing a very deep, true kind of love that will likely affect you in some way for the rest of your life. She may be the only woman you ever love, Son."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

_Could she really mean that she believed Bella was the woman I was meant to spend the rest of my life with?_

"Yes. But with that being said, I think it's a bit premature for you to be thinking of forever yet. But it's not so far-fetched either. Your father and I knew, as did your aunt and uncle and your grandparents. Apparently it's a thing with the Cullen men."

"Wow," I said lowly.

"Now don't go letting that worry you. I didn't tell you to scare you more. I told you so you can see that your feelings aren't out of place or unusual. First you have to figure out what your first step will be in repairing your relationship with Bella. Any idea how you're going to do that?"

"I think first I need to talk to her. I need to explain to her why I've acted the way I have and apologize to her for confusing her and hurting her."

I waited for my mother's reaction, hoping she didn't think I was going to go about things the wrong way. Because if she was, I was so screwed given I had no idea of any other way to do what I had to do.

"Sounds like a great place to start," she said with a reassuring smile.

"Thank goodness I figured that much out," I murmured.

"Trust your instincts, Son, and trust your heart. If you're honest with her and you follow your heart, I believe the rest will work itself out and the two of you will be just fine."

"Thanks, Mom," I said as she came around the counter and gave me a hug.

"You're welcome. Now I'm off to bed. You should try to get some sleep too."

"I will."

After I heard the click of my parents' bedroom door, I looked at my watch and saw it was only about ten o'clock. All the emotions I had coursing through me felt as if they were going to swallow me whole if I didn't get them out and I knew I'd never be able to sleep right now, so I decided to go down to the school campus and shoot some hoops to tire myself out. Heading to my room I quickly changed into a pair of sweats and one of my old Hopkins basketball t-shirts.

On my way to the basketball court it occurred to me that I wouldn't be far from Bella's dorm building and my heart sped up like crazy at the thought of seeing her.

_Do it. Go see her now_, a voice inside my head shouted at me and I soon found myself pulling up in front of her building. However one look at the building told me if she was there she was asleep. There wasn't one glint of light coming from any of the windows I could see.

I grabbed my phone from the center console of my jeep and fumbled with it until I pulled up Bella's number, contemplating if I should call her or not. As much as I wanted to see her, I wasn't selfish enough to wake her up. Instead I sat there staring at her building.

"What are you doing, Bright Eyes?" I whispered to my phone where her number was still lit up.

I let my head fall back against the headrest of my seat and thought about Bella. She was so close, but it felt like it was so far away from where I was sitting in my jeep. It was warm enough that I still had the top off of it and sitting here underneath the stars, staring into the sky, I wished she was here with me.

_Oh, Bright Eyes,_ I thought. _If you were, I'd tell you what an idiot I've been. I'd tell you how much I've missed you. How I miss feeling the beating of your heart as you sleep lying against me. How I miss seeing the sunshine light up your face every day and the way it brings out the red highlights in your hair, how I miss everything about you, and how I hope that you'll forgive me for being such an incredible jackass._

I found myself wondering if her feelings were as strong for me as mine were for her. She had said that she loved me when she'd laid the gauntlet down at the club tonight, but had she fallen as hard and as fast as I had? I'd like to believe that she had. The connection between us had been instant and so strong that I couldn't help thinking neither of us ever really stood a chance at denying it.

_It's about time you're seeing it for what it really is instead of running from it._

I chuckled to myself as I remembered how I'd tried fighting my feelings for her. Like a fool I had thought that we could be friends for the summer and then go our separate ways, when all along from the first moment I'd set eyes on her I'd been falling effortlessly and hadn't even realized it.

_Took ya long enough, moron._

I glanced up at her building once more, wishing for some sign that she might be awake. When one didn't come, I resigned myself to the fact I was going to have to wait until tomorrow morning at the earliest to see Bella. With that in mind I began to form a plan in my head…_I'm going to text—no that's too impersonal—I'll call her as soon as I wake up and ask her to meet me for lunch. If the weather is nice we will get it to go and sit down by the harbor where we will have some privacy for the conversation we need to have. And I know for sure…As soon as I see her I'm going to tell her how I feel…that I love her. No matter what happens between us, I will make sure she never doubts again how I feel about her. _

As I drove away from her residence hall, I felt a tiny bit of relief at having formed a plan and sense of purpose now that I was certain of my feelings for Bella and what I intended to do about them.

***{SIB}***

"Shit," I groaned and raised the bottom of my shirt, wiping the sweat from my eyes after missing the shot I'd taken. My skills were severely lacking compared to what they used to be.

I bounced the ball in front of me, passing it from one hand to the next, preparing to take another shot, when my skin began to prickle and an odd sense that I was being watched came over me.

Catching the ball between my hands I stood still for a second and listened for any sign that someone was here besides me. When I didn't hear anything I shook it off as my imagination and went back to dribbling the ball.

Backing up as I dribbled, I stopped for a second and then began my run towards the net. As I neared it, I jumped and made the shot. Landing, I turned around to retrieve the ball and thought I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye.

Looking up, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I rubbed my eyes and looked again to make sure I wasn't only imagining her there. When I opened my eyes and looked again the view was still the same. My earlier feeling of being watched must have been for real, because leaning against the gate post to the court was Bella.

She flashed me a bright smile as our eyes locked and said, "That shot was much better than the last one. Are you sure you played basketball most of your life?"

_Now there's the snarky, beautiful girl I fell for. Oh how I've missed her. She looked damn good in my shirt too._

It was impossible for me to not return her smile. "You doubting my skills on the court, Miss Swan?" I asked holding her gaze as I dropped the ball and took long purposeful strides to close the distance between us.

This was my chance to tell her everything I'd wanted to a little while ago and I wasn't going to let it pass me by. My heart thumped wildly in my chest with nervous excitement, knowing what I was about to say to her.

She stood there watching me as I stalked my way over to her. Her gaze held steady and never lost focus of mine. As I reached her she opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get a word out I raised my hand and placed my finger over her lips.

"Shhh," I told her.

I waited for just a second to make she was going to remain quiet and when I was positive she would, I lifted my other hand to her face at the same time I adjusted the one already touching her so that I held her face cradled in the palms of my hands.

Lifting her face slightly so that I could look right into her eyes I said, "I love you."

Her only response was an audible gasp that echoed across the deserted basketball court as she stood there frozen, staring at me in her stunned state.

It hadn't been quite the reaction that I'd been hoping for, but at least she hadn't turned and run away. The fact that she was still here, still taking in what I'd just said to her, meant there was still a chance for us. Now I just had to tell her everything else and hope she would believe me.

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**So...I'm dying to hear what you guys think of Edward's reasoning and his declaration to Bella, as well as how you think Bella will react.  
**

**I'm already hard at work on chapter 18 and promise to post it just as soon as I can. Thanks so much for your patience and for being the awesome readers that you are. **

**See ya next time, **

**EA**


	18. Words

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

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**Don't fall over all shocked now. I'm sure you all weren't expecting this chapter so fast. But it came to me much easier than I thought it would. So...here ya go! **

**As always my eternal gratitude goes to My-Bella and Hope4More! **

******I have to thank _Skylar Grey_ and her song, _Words_, for lots of inspiration with this chapter. If you're looking for something to listen to as you read, it's a great song. **

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**When we last left these two…**

_I waited for just a second to make she was going to remain quiet and when I was positive she would, I lifted my other hand to her face at the same time I adjusted the one already touching her so that I held her face cradled in the palms of my hands._

_Lifting her face slightly so that I could look right into her eyes I said, "I love you."_

_Her only response was an audible gasp that echoed across the deserted basketball court as she stood there frozen, staring at me in her stunned state._

_It hadn't been quite the reaction that I'd been hoping for, but at least she hadn't turned and run away. The fact that she was still here, still taking in what I'd just said to her, meant there was still a chance for us. Now I just had to tell her everything else and hope she would believe me._

Her brows furrowed slightly as she stared at me, probably trying to gauge whether or not I was being honest with her. There was more that had to be said before she would believe me.

"I mean it, Bella. I love you. And I'm not telling you this because you said it earlier, or because I'm worried you'll walk away if I don't. I'm telling you so that no matter what happens between us from this moment on, you will know how I truly feel about you."

I pulled in a long breath as I caressed her cheek with the pad of my thumb. Her eyes closed momentarily as she leaned into my touch, then she opened them back up and focused her gaze on me again.

"I allowed myself to get lost in my own head, worrying over shit that I should have just talked to you about. But I'm done with that now. I know I've hurt you and I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to walk away and never speak to me again. I can't take back the things I've done or words that I never said to you before now. Words I should have said. I've been drowning in my regrets for the last few hours, hating myself over the pain I've caused you, the time I've wasted—stolen from us. It feels good to finally tell you how I feel, but more than anything, I hope it feels good for you to hear it, to know how much I really do care for you, and it eases any pain I've caused you. Bella, I know our relationship to this point hasn't been all that you were hoping for, but whatever happens next, I just wanted you to know that I am so sorry and that I really do love you."

Her brown eyes sparkled in the lights illuminating the court. "You love me," she said softly. It wasn't a question, but she hadn't said it with complete conviction either. It was like she was trying it on for size, like a new pair of shoes, to see if it fit, or maybe as if I was going to take it back or she was going to wake up from a dream. The fact that it was so hard for her to accept what I was telling her as the honest truth showed me just how deeply I'd hurt her. However what was also true was that I deserved her reaction after the way I'd behaved the last several days, one minute acting as though I wanted to be with her and pulling away the next.

I knew that I had hurt her with my actions. I'd been hurting too. And despite the fact that I knew in my heart that I wanted to be with her, I'd been so confused…caught up in my own head…afraid to let her back in again. All the lies I'd suffered through before clouded my mind. In theory I knew it was wrong to compare Bella to others in my past, but it had been hard not to…Letting my head overrule my heart was a huge mistake and I really hoped she'd let me make it up to her. I knew now it's what I truly wanted more than anything. However first I had to get her to believe me.

"I do. Come sit with me," I told her, looking directly into her dark eyes while taking her hand and pulling her to the bench across the court. I had some convincing to do and I wasn't going to leave here tonight until I was one hundred percent sure she believed me.

We sat down and I kept her hand in mine, needing the connection to her. Taking a deep breath I dug in without hesitation, not wanting to let her have time for her reservations to grow into full-fledged disbelief.

"I don't blame you for having some doubts, Bella. I know my decision to not make a decision has made a real mess of things. I know I've hurt you. I hope you can believe me when I say that I never meant to do that. Now that I'm sure of what I want, how I feel, I'm hoping we can get past it. That is, unless you've changed your mind about how you feel for me—unless I'm too late."

She chewed on her lip as she contemplated what to say. Peering up at me she let out a long sigh, releasing her bottom lip and said, "No…my feelings haven't changed. But…"

"But," I returned, hoping she wasn't about to tell me it didn't matter, that I'd hurt her too badly.

"I'm confused. How can you be so sure now, when just a few hours ago you weren't?" she asked. Her forehead was crinkled and her eyebrows furrowed as she waited for my reply.

_How do I explain this to her_?

My thoughts were so loud in my head they were practically screaming at me. Then I remembered my mom telling me to just be honest with her and follow my heart.

Set on doing just that, I took a deep breath and started. "I guess you could say it was a combination of a lot of things. Things that prevented me from really accepting what I wanted. From seeing my feelings for what they really were, seeing where I'd made mistakes and how they had hurt us both. I've been a fool, I've been blind. You might say I wasn't looking at the big picture. For a long time I had been too focused on the fact you hadn't been honest with me and I let it cloud everything else. Things that were right in front of me." I shook my head and sighed. "You, Bella—the real you, the girl…woman that I got to know in the DR. If I'd just…If I'd just remembered her like I should have, I would have never accused you of the things I did."

"It's okay," she said. "I should have been completely honest with you in the first place. I should have trusted you then."

"Maybe, maybe not?" I surmised, shrugging my shoulders. "Rose asked me if I'd have allowed myself to get close to you at all if I'd known the truth back then, and the truth is I probably wouldn't have. Not knowing you then as I do now, I probably would have just assumed the worst and closed myself off to you."

She nodded and was quiet for a few moments. "I wanted to tell you. Fear of your reaction was part of why I didn't and I've already told you the other reasons why. I get how you were blinded by your anger over my being less than completely honest with you, Edward. But can you explain to me what these things were that allowed you to finally see how you really felt for me? How you finally worked through them? Give me something to go on here because it just doesn't make sense to me."

"I don't blame you for not believing me," I said with a sigh as I rubbed the back of my neck. I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but it felt like my whole world was hanging on this one conversation.

_Maybe because it is; I don't think I could handle her rejecting me now._

She turned sideways on the bench so she was facing me. Next she reached over and took my hand in hers and laced her fingers through mine. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, Edward. Despite how the last few weeks have gone between us I don't believe that you are someone who would carelessly toss around a declaration like the one you made tonight. I just need for you to help me understand how you got to that point. If there is going to be an us, I don't want there to be any lingering questions, misunderstandings or misconceptions between us. I want everything out in the open so we can move on. Can you do that? I get that sometimes it's harder for guys to put their feelings into words, but I really need for you to try."

I nodded and closed my eyes while leaning back against the chain-link fence behind us. Listening to the ripples of sound it made from my weight hitting it, I thought about where to begin.

When I'd decided I sat up and made eye contact with her, hoping she'd see the conviction in them and know that I was being completely honest with her.

"At first I was just really angry. Very hurt, but also angry. But even though I understood why you had done things the way you had after I'd heard the argument with your mother, and after you told me everything, I still had a hard time with whether or not I could trust you to be completely honest with me again.

"Bella, I am so blown away with how you defended me and my family to your mother…I…seeing you do that should have been enough to convince me to trust you. I mean you cuts ties with your family and…and I realize it was for more reasons than just what your mother said about my family but…"

"But you still had trouble getting past what I'd done?" she asked finishing the sentence for me.

"Yes, and until today I couldn't figure out why. It was actually Rose who helped me see what I had done."

"Okay. Can you share that with me?"

I nodded and said, "You remember back on the island when we had the chat about the type of girls I was used to encountering and about Tanya and Bree when they were doing everything they could to work with me?"

Bella snorted. "You mean the one after the fake bug incident and after you…" Her eyes jutted up to the hat sitting backwards on my head, then back to mine. "…Stole my hat?"

"Yeah. That's the one," I replied with a chuckle, taking the hat off my head and putting it on hers backwards like I'd been wearing it so I could still see her face.

She rewarded me with a wide smile.

_Damn she looked cute. Kinda sexy too. _

Seeing her with that hat on again reminded me of her being so adorably flustered in the DR when I'd swiped it from her. She'd had a ferocious kitten tenacity about her that was so sweet and adorable while being so innocently sexy at the same time. It made me want to kiss her just as much now as it had then.

"And?"

"And because I'd been so enthralled by you, so impressed by how different you were, I'd somehow put you on this pedestal and deemed you perfect. So when I found out who you really were—"

"Your vision of me was shattered," she stated softly, interrupting me.

"Yes."

"Edward," she said with a sigh. "If perfection is what you are looking for in a girl, in a relationship—"

I stopped her this time, placing my fingers over her lips again.

"It's not. I'm not. I see now how wrong and unfair of me it was to have that image of you."

"Good, because I'm far from perfect, Edward, and I don't know anyone who is even close."

"Neither do I."

I went on to tell Bella how Rose had helped me see my mistake when she'd heard me say how perfect my time with Bella was, and how I saw her as being perfect. I then told her how Rose made me confront the fact that I was in love with Bella.

"If you knew you loved me, then why did you fight it? Why couldn't you make a decision to be with me?" she asked.

I had a feeling she was going to ask me that and I knew I was going to have to be honest with her. _Put your big boy boxers on, Cullen._

Looking into her eyes, I lifted the hat slightly and brushed back the hair that had been blown into her face by a gust of wind before placing it back on her head. Her eyes were imploring me to answer her. Sucking in a long pull of air, I did. "I was scared."

"What…how? I…I don't understand. Why?" she begged to know. When I didn't immediately answer her, she must have felt I was hesitating. "It's okay, you know. You can tell me anything."

I nodded and began. "The last serious relationship I had didn't end well. She cheated on me."

"She hurt you."

I nodded again.

"I'm sorry, Edward, that must not have been easy for you to deal with."

"No it wasn't."

"I'm guessing my keeping the truth from you stirred that all back up or something like that," she stated.

"Sorta, but not exactly," I told her. "While what Leah did to me hurt, I didn't care for her nearly as much as I do for you, Bella. I didn't love her.

"When we first met, I tried to fight my feelings for you. That didn't work out so well. They hit me hard and almost instantly, but I figured I'd never see you again after the summer so I fought them."

"So then when you found out I lived in Baltimore too, you let your guard down."

"I did. Not that it wasn't already crumbling, you were impossible to resist."

She smiled softly and blushed.

I reached up and skimmed the back of my hand across her cheek. "I've missed that." Her cheeks pinked up even more with my statement. I sighed and continued. "I've never been in love before, Bella. And I felt so hurt and betrayed when I found out who you really were. It hurt me so much more than Leah cheating on me ever had and because of that, I tried to fight my feelings again. Before I saw you that morning, I knew I was falling hard for you but wasn't sure if it was love. After that morning I kept telling myself if it hurts this bad now, what would it be like if you did it again. How could I trust you again and possibly set myself up for that kind of hurt and betrayal," I explained.

"I can understand why you would feel that way," she whispered. "But what about all the times you flirted and acted like things were going to be okay between us?"

I smiled and chuckled. "That was simply my failure at fighting my feelings for you, Bella. When I was around you it was impossible to do. I would try, but would always end up giving in to the overwhelming desire to just touch you in some way. There were times when it would happen before I'd even know it. Only way I can think of to describe it is it was like my subconscious was taking over and forcing me to do what I really wanted. And if I am being completely honest with you…there were a few times when jealousy played a part in it too."

"Like earlier at the club?"

"Yes. Now don't take that the wrong way. I'd been dying to dance with you all night, stupidly I was again trying to fight my feelings. But when I saw Luke put his hands on you and dance with you the way he was…I nearly lost my mind with jealous rage. You have no idea how hard it was for me to not hit him."

_Wasn't so hard for him to deck you though. _On instinct my hand rubbed my jaw.

"And, Bella, if we're being completely honest with each other, I know my flirting and being hot and cold with you was wrong and confusing, but you didn't exactly resist or pull back at all either. If you were so torn over the way I was acting, why didn't you say something sooner or ignore me or something? Why'd you flirt right back? At the club earlier when I questioned you about the way you were dancing with Luke, you said you more or less did that to get a reaction out of me. So why did you do that?"

She sighed and her shoulders slumped a little. "I guess it was because for one, the dancing with Luke was for obvious reasons—to make you jealous. I hoped that if maybe you thought I might move on or have interest in someone else it might push you to make a choice. Two, I really felt like I had to hold on to you any way I could. I was terrified that I was going to lose you over what I'd done and as long as you were still flirting and giving me attention I felt like there was still hope. So I clung onto it any chance I got. And three, well…I've had a taste or two of the green eyed monster myself," Bella admitted.

"Yeah?" I asked wondering if she was referring to Rose and me dancing at the ball.

"Yeah. There was the ball when I saw you dancing with Rose. Of course I know now she's your cousin, but it was driving me mad seeing you with her that night. And…and then there's Kelsey."

My brows furrowed as I tried to figure out why she'd be jealous of Kelsey. "Kelsey Mathews?" I asked for clarification, hoping she'd elaborate since I didn't know any other Kelsey.

"That's the one," she quipped.

"Why would you be jealous of her? I don't want anything to do with her. At one time she was a friend. But that ended when she couldn't accept that's all we'd ever be."

_Had Kelsey been spreading rumors? Was that why she seemed to be so pleased with herself when she realized I hadn't known who Bella was that morning?_

"You _never_ had any interest in her as more? None at all?" Bella asked.

"_No_. Never. And I let her know that more than once. What about you and Luke? Do you have any real interest in him? What if I weren't in the picture?" I assured her.

"First, about Kelsey, I didn't think she was your type. She's everything you said you didn't want, but I don't think she got the memo because she still seems to think she has a shot with you. And as far as Luke is concerned, he's a great guy but I've not even really given him much thought as anything other than a friend. He feels more like an overprotective big brother to me. If you weren't in the picture…I don't know. I can't honestly answer that, Edward, because I've never allowed myself to go there because my heart belongs to only one guy. To you, Edward."

I reached up and caressed her face gently and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "My heart belongs to you, Bella." I whispered. "So if neither of us wants anyone else, does it matter what Kelsey or anyone else thinks if we know the truth?"

"No not really. I let Kelsey get to me at first, but then I realized what I'd just told you, that she's not at all someone you'd want to be with. But…well it would make things easier if she did."

Bella's comment about it being easier if Kelsey were to leave us alone reminded me of what I was going to say before she admitted she'd had some jealous moments too.

"You're right it would. But let me ask you something. You said it didn't matter what Kelsey thought as long as we knew the truth, right?"

"Right."

"So even if it made things a little harder, even if we had to work a little harder at our relationship because of whatever obstacles came our way, be it Kelsey or anything else. In the end as long as we have a relationship that _we _are happy with, isn't that all that matters? Wouldn't _that_ be worth the annoyances or struggles we'd have to go through?"

"Yes," she replied without hesitation.

"Something that Rose told me was that I had to decide if I cared enough about you to put myself out there and take a chance. And I do, Bella. I've come to really see that anything worth having is worth fighting for and if we have some struggles along the way, what we'd have in the end would be worth it. I know things won't go back to how easy they were between us right away, but I want us to get there. I'm willing to fight for us to have that again. So I guess I just need to know if you do too?"

The moment of truth was here now and I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't nervous about her answer.

"Can I ask you something before I give you my answer?"

I felt my body stiffen. What did she want to ask me? Would her answer depend on whatever it was she wanted to know from me? Did I not explain my feelings to her clearly enough? What if I'd fucked this up so much more than I'd ever imagined?

I fought the urge to panic as I tried to remain calm with my reply. However I knew I wasn't succeeding when I heard Bella's voice pull me out of my head.

"Edward? Did you hear me? Can I ask you something first?"

_You need to stay out of there, buddy. You only get into trouble when you get lost in there._

"Oh, um, yeah…I heard you. Sorry…I uh…got lost in my thoughts for a second. Um...sure. You can ask me anything." _Total failure in the calm department, Cullen. _

"I know the night we talked I told you to take your time to make your decision. And at the time I meant that. So do you understand why I had to give you the ultimatum?" she wanted to know.

"Yeah, I do. My flip flopping around and not making a choice was only hurting us both. Mostly you, but it was not good or fair for either of us," I told her.

"Right. It wasn't about the time frame. It was just too hard with the mixed signals you were sending to let things go on that way any longer. If things had remained neutral between us while you took the time to figure things out, I'd have been fine with waiting. I knew I'd broken your trust and that I'd hurt you by doing so, so I was willing to wait as long as I had to. But the way things were going was just too hard."

I could hear the pain in her voice and see it in her eyes. Right then I vowed to myself that I'd do everything I could to take that pain away and to never see her hurt again. At least not by me.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you, Bella." I put my arms around her and pulled her to my chest. It felt amazing to have her in my arms again. But no matter how great it was, I needed to know what her answer was. It was killing me inside not knowing if I'd ever get to hold her this way again.

Tilting her face up, I asked, "Can you forgive me, Bella? Can we put this behind us and forget it and move on with a fresh start? Will you still be my girlfriend?"

"No."

"No?" I asked, barely able to get the word out, petrified that I had hurt her too badly and this was where she was going to tell me to go away and she'd run from me.

Seeing my reaction she suddenly got wide eyed and gasped. "Oh that's not what I meant," she blurted out.

"Then please tell me 'cause I think my heart just stopped beating," I urged, trying to swallow the lump forming in my throat, threatening to suffocate me.

Her hand slid up my arm and rested on my shoulder. "What I meant was that I don't want to forget. I want to forgive, but not forget. If we forget all that has come before now, then we are acting as if all that has happened that was good never existed. And we've had some pretty great times. I don't want to ever forget those moments, Edward. I want to cherish them for forever. But I also think if we bury the bad and forget it then we might not learn from our mistakes."

"So then we forgive and rebuild."

"I'd like that. But I think we need to take things slow at first. Things got pretty intense really fast between us. I don't want to go backwards and start seeing other people or anything like that, you're the only person I want to be with, but I just think we need to try to be a normal couple. "

"I'd love nothing more than to take you on dates and do all the things that normal couples do, Bella."

"Me too," she said before a huge yawn escaped her.

"It's getting late. I know I haven't been sleeping very well and I'm betting you haven't either. How about I drive you back to your dorm building and I call you tomorrow to set up our first official date?"

"That sounds great." She smiled widely and another yawn followed it.

Bella waited while I retrieved my basketball from the other side of the court and then I took her hand as we made our way to my jeep. I never let go except for the few seconds it took me to climb into the driver's seat.

Once we pulled up to her dorm building I walked her to the door of it. When we stopped she pulled the Orioles hat from her head and stood on her toes to set it back on mine.

"It looks better on you. Besides, you got it all sweaty and gross," she teased.

"Sweaty and gross huh?" I asked taking a step closer to her so that we were almost pressed together. She nodded. "Does that mean I'm too gross for a goodnight kiss?" I reached up and cupped her face with my hand, brushing my thumb across her cheek as I leaned my face closer to hers.

"No," she whispered so softly I barely heard her as she grabbed onto my shirt and stepped up on the doorstep and pulled me even closer to her. She was nearly the same height as me now and so close that I only had to hardly move at all to place my lips on hers. At first I just brushed my lips gently against hers a few times, but when her arms slipped around my neck, holding me to her, as she tilted her head slightly letting me know she wanted more, I didn't hesitate. She sighed as I traced her bottom lip with my tongue before slipping it into her mouth. We kissed, our lips and tongues moving in tandem until neither one of us could go any longer without air. Pulling away slightly I placed a few more chaste kisses on her lips before leaning my forehead against hers.

"I should go," I said through my ragged breathing.

She nodded and closed her eyes, resting her head on my shoulder as she hugged me tightly.

I kissed the side of her neck and whispered, "I'll call you as soon as I wake up, okay?"

"Okay," she mumbled back since her face was buried against my neck.

I knew if I didn't pull away, we might be there all night. So I encouraged her to go on in, as much as I didn't want to, and told her to call me once she was in her room. With one last quick kiss she did and I made my way down the walkway to my jeep.

I watched the area around the fourth floor of the building and soon knew which window was hers when I saw a soft light flicker on. I could see her standing in front of it as she took her phone out of her pocket and called me.

"I'm here. I see you," she said softly.

"I see you too. Good night, Bright Eyes, I'll talk to you soon."

"Good night to you too," she replied.

I was just about to tap the end call button when I heard her say my name. "Edward?"

"Yeah."

"I love you too, Stretch."

"I love you, Bright Eyes. Night."

"Night," she whispered before I heard her end the call.

I waved to her and then drove off when I saw her turn from the window and walk away.

The whole drive home I couldn't quit smiling. I felt a sense of relief and for the first time in many days I felt alive again. I knew we still had work to do to repair our relationship, but I was confident we'd be able to get back what we'd lost and maybe even make things better than they were before.

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**Let me know what you think.  
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**See ya next time,**

**~EA**


	19. Mississippi

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

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**I know...it's been entirely too long since my last update. All I can say is I'm sorry. Life is a bit crazy right now and I'm doing my best. I promise to get the chapters to you as fast as I can. Hopefully the chapter makes up for the wait.  
**

**As always my eternal gratitude goes to My-Bella and Hope4More! **

**Enjoy!**

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**September 24, 2011**

***{Bella}***

"Go away," I mumbled into my pillow upon waking to the sound of my phone ringing. All I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep. That was until my brain started to come out of its sleep induced fog and I remembered what had happened over night.

_Please tell me it wasn't a dream._

I quickly grabbed my phone and saw it was Edward. With a smile that was so wide it was almost painful spreading across my face, I picked it up.

_So not a dream._

"Hi," I murmured, sounding as sleepy as I still felt.

"Good morning, Bright Eyes," he said in the same dreamy tone he had when waking me up back in the DR. And just like it had then, it made me feel all warm and tingly inside now.

"Mmm, morning," I returned, trying to sound more awake than I had before.

"You were still sleeping," he replied regretfully.

"Mmm hmm," I responded, followed by a long yawn.

"I'm sorry I woke you. I waited as long as I could force myself to. Do you want me to call you later so you can go back to sleep?" he asked sounding adorably flustered. His voice held a hint of sorrow for waking me, but was also filled with excitement to talk to me.

"No. It's okay. I'm glad you called. What time is it?" I fought off another yawn and rubbed my eyes in an effort to rouse myself further.

"Almost eleven."

"Wow. I can't believe I slept so late."

"Still not a morning person, I see," he teased.

"Nope."

"Hmm," he sighed. "You know nurses have to pull all kinds of weird hours sometimes, Miss Swan." His voice had taken on a more serious tone, but I could practically hear him fighting the smirk on his face with his next comment. "Sure you can hack it?"

"Better than you can shoot a basketball," I shot back at him, loving the fun banter we had going on. It reminded me of the plane and bus rides when we'd first met. I had missed it—him so much.

"Are you doubting my skills on the court again?"

"Yup."

"Well I'm just going to have to show you then."

My heart sped up in excitement and desire over the thought of watching him shoot hoops. Pulling my 'e' pillow to my chest and smiling widely once again, I accepted his offer. "I'm holding you to that. But just so you know, I wasn't impressed with what I saw last night. You are going to have to knock my socks off to prove it."

"I accept your challenge, Miss Swan, and I _will_ prove my skills later on, but for now, let's get to why I called."

"I'm all ears. Do tell."

"I seem to recall making a promise to show you around campus and some of my favorite places in town. So I was wondering if you'd like to do that still and then maybe grab a late lunch?" he asked.

"Sounds great. But I do have a paper I should work on so I need to get to the library later before they close. What time were you thinking of beginning our date?"

"Is an hour too soon? And I have homework as well. How do you feel about studying together?"

"Nope. An hour is perfect. And I'd love that."

"It's a date then. I'll see you in an hour, Bella." I could hear the happiness in his voice and could picture his face with that lopsided grin of his.

_He's not the only one who is much happier today. _

I couldn't wait to spend time with him. "See you then, too."

I hung up the phone and nearly fell flat on my face in my haste to get out of bed. How I managed to stay upright after getting tangled up in my blankets was beyond me, but I did.

Forty-five minutes later, with only fifteen minutes to spare, I was ready to go—except for the fact I couldn't decide what to wear. I knew I didn't have to get dressed up for Edward, but I wanted to look cute while still being comfortable since we were likely going to be doing a fair amount of walking as he showed me around.

Pulling my closet door open, I momentarily considered calling Al, but I knew I didn't have enough time to explain everything to her and still be ready to go on time.

_Got to wing it this time, girlfriend. He liked you just fine in tanks and shorts all summer, so why are you freaking out?_

_Today is different_.

Sure, he hadn't cared much about my attire all summer, but there wasn't really much of a choice then. It was make do with what you had and the situation we were in didn't really allow for me to care about what I was wearing. Today was our first official date and despite the fact we'd known each other for a few months now, because it was our first official date, it was a special day.

I started going through my clothes a couple hangers at a time, sliding them from one side of my closet to the next.

"Why that shopaholic, sneaky little pixie, best friend of mine," I muttered out loud when I discovered several pieces of clothing hanging in the back with the tags still on them. Clothes I was positive I hadn't purchased for myself, which meant there was only one place they could have come from. Al had put them there.

_Which means Sky probably knows too since she undoubtedly let her in here._

Not having time to worry about it right now, I pushed it aside for later. Beginning my search again, I noticed a blouse I liked and pulled it out. After having a closer look at it, I decided the sheer floral top would look cute with my purple camisole under it.

Quickly putting the two tops on with a pair of jeans and my comfortable black flats, I brushed through my hair one last time, leaving it to hang in its natural waves. Next I made sure I had removed everything I needed to work on my paper from my backpack and placed it in my tote bag. Once I added my phone to my purse and Edward's flannel shirt to my bag in case it got chilly later, I deemed myself ready.

"Hey where are you off too?" Sky asked as I passed through the kitchen section of our shared suite.

"I have a date," I told her with a huge smile.

With a skeptical and shocked expression on her face, she scratched her head and asked, "Um, Bella. I know that you and Edward sorta had it out last night, but are you sure this is what you want to do? I mean you haven't even given him a whole day to respond to the ultimatum you gave him."

"Yep. I'm very sure. Wanna know why?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," she replied hesitantly.

"Because, silly, my date_ is_ with Edward." Somehow my smile grew even wider. So wide I could almost feel the muscles in my cheeks straining.

The look on her face was priceless. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally sputtered, "But…how…I don't… when..."

Placing my hands on her shoulders, I said, "I don't have time now, but to make a long story short, I went for a walk last night, ran into him, we talked and worked things out. I'll fill you in on the rest later. Okay?"

"Okay," she said with a nod of her head, at the same time still looking utterly confused.

"I gotta go. He's probably waiting for me downstairs." I quickly kissed her on the cheek and darted out the door.

Sure enough, the second I walked out the building's door, there was Edward leaning against his jeep with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for me.

_Damn he looks good._

A smile lit his face the instant he saw me. However I was too mesmerized to return it due to the image of him standing there, rendering me incapable of doing anything more than staring at him as I somehow continued to make my way down the walkway to him. How he made a simple shirt and cargo shorts look so good was beyond me. Most people dressed to look better, but not Edward. No, he made his clothes look better. And the fact he had his Baltimore hat on backwards and was sporting his sunglasses only added to the effect.

I stopped about a foot in front of him. "Hi," I said, finally able to return his smile.

"Hi," he replied, taking my hand and pulling me closer to him. His other hand grasped my hip holding me in place while he leaned in and placed a lingering kiss on my lips. "Ready to go?"

"Yep."

"Then let's go."

He gave me another quick peck on the lips before he opened the jeep door for me. He held my hand as I maneuvered the high step up into his vehicle. After shutting my door, he jogged around to the other side and climbed in himself.

"So," I said as we headed down the street. "Where are we off to?"

"I thought first I'd show you around campus a bit. Then I believe you challenged me to knock your socks off with my basketball skills." Pausing he glanced my way briefly, flashing me that sarcastic smirk of his that was also ridiculously sexy. Then with his eyes back on the road he continued, "And after that I thought I'd take you for a late lunch to one of my favorite places down by the harbor.

"Sounds great," I told him, smiling widely.

"Glad you approve, Bright Eyes." He reached over and linked our hands together and rested them on the console between our seats.

Our first stop was the athletic center. "Did you bring me here to show off your so called basketball skills?" I teased.

"No," he said taking my hand in his and leading me into the huge arena. "I just wanted to show you where it was that I played. This building is still one of my favorite places on the campus."

I could completely see his love for the game. He almost had this faraway—wistful look in his eyes, but they still shone brightly with how much it meant to him.

"Tell me about when you played?"

"Really?" He turned to face me, searching my eyes for sincerity or to determine if I was just asking for his sake.

"Yes. Of course I do." My free hand slid up his toned chest until it was resting over his rapidly beating heart. "Basketball was a huge part of your life and you obviously still love the game. I want to know everything about you. So, yes, I want to know about when you played," I told him honestly.

"You really want to know?" His voice had risen a few octaves and was dripping with excitement and surprise. So much so, he almost sounded like a little kid who had just won a prize at a carnival.

"Yep."

"Okay then." He let go of my hand and backed up a few steps before slowly turning in a circle as he looked all around the court. "That right there," he said, pointing to the banners hanging from the rafters. "That is probably my best memory here ever."

"Which one?" There were several banners hanging from the ceiling rafters commemorating different milestones for more than just the basketball team so I wanted to be sure which one he was talking about.

"The championship one from 2009. That was the last year I played."

"Wow. What a way to go out. After ending a season like that it must have made it even harder to quit. I think I'd be hungry to get another championship."

"It was hard, and they guys on the team didn't make it any easier on me either. They gave me shit about winning the title and wanting to quit. Some of them even went so far as to try and tell me I'd be ruining the team if I left. I can't tell you how guilty I felt at first when I knew for certain what I would do. That I would leave the team.

"See I didn't decide I wasn't coming back for sure until shortly before the next season began. The coach knew it was something I was considering, but urged me to take the summer and make sure I didn't make a hasty decision."

"That makes sense," I replied. Seeing the mask of sadness that came over his face, I could tell it was still hard for him to talk about. "You okay?" I asked moving closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his to steady me as I stretched up as far as I could on my toes and pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw.

_What a jaw it was too. And the layer of scruff covering it only made it even more sexier. _

"Yeah. I'm good," he murmured against my hair as he slid his arms around me and pulled me against him before burying his face against my neck and kissing me where my shoulder and neck met.

I sighed internally and smiled softly to myself, remembering how he used to kiss me there all the time over the summer—it still sent tingles shooting to my toes.

After a couple of seconds he continued, "I don't regret my decision to quit at all, I know I made the right choice. But that doesn't mean I don't miss playing sometimes."

"Tell me about winning that day," I urged.

"It was one of the most amazing days of my life," he recalled with a huge grin.

Edward then told me about some of the special moments from that game, how it had come down to the last few minutes of the game for them to win. He told me how amazing it had been to win the state championship that year and how devastating it had been when he realized during pre-season workouts the following year he needed to quit playing and concentrate on his medical degree.

I was surprised to learn that every now and then he still worked out with the team just for fun. He had kept in touch with the coach and knew several of the guys on the team so they allowed him to practice with them once in a while to brush up on his skills.

"It sounds awesome. But can I ask you a question?" It was hard for me to keep a straight face knowing what I was about to ask him. However, I just couldn't help teasing him again, partly because it was fun to do, and partly to lighten the mood that had been dampened a little by his missing the game he obviously had loved to play.

"You just did," he said playfully, flashing me that cocky grin of his.

"Ha ha." I gave him a playful shove.

"Well then what's your question?" he asked.

"When was the last time you practiced with the team?"

I watched his facial expression as it went from one that was thinking about my question to one that was curious as to why I had asked and one that was up to something. He had this almost scary—not in a bad way scary—but mischievous look in his eyes that had me leery of what his retaliation might be once he knew why I had asked him that.

"Not since the end of last school year. Why?"

"Just curious," I said, looking around and shrugging my shoulders while trying to sound as if it was nothing.

_You're so busted, Bella. You can't even look at him and he knows it. Better get ready to run, girl._

"Why, Bella? Tell me why you wanted to know. You must have had some reason for wanting to know." He started to take slow, measured steps towards me at the same time I backed up. The intensity in his gaze deepened and I felt like I was his prey being stalked for his next meal.

"Well you know, you just seemed so rusty last night…I figured it had been a while." I couldn't hold back at all when a teasing, wide, toothy grin took over my face.

"You think so? Huh?" He took another step closer.

"Mmm hmm."

I let my gaze slip from him only long enough to blink and that was all the time he needed to attack. Suddenly he lunged for me like he would a basketball he was trying to steal from a teammate, catching me off guard and causing me to shriek loudly when he barely missed me. I took full advantage of his miss and took off running across the court.

"You can run but you can't hide, Bright Eyes, and I _will_ catch you," he called as he chased me around the court. I had a feeling he wasn't running as fast as he could in order to try and wear me out or give me a false sense of security before he moved in and caught me. I didn't care though, we were having a blast and that was all that mattered to me as the sounds of our laughter and shoes squeaking on the floor echoed all around us.

I was grateful and saddened when he took advantage of me tripping over my own feet and saved me from falling. Grateful he'd caught me and saved me from being hurt, grateful to be in his arms too. But saddened because our little game of cat and mouse had come to an end—it was so much fun just letting loose with him like this. Rarely had we had any free time over the summer, so I was seeing a completely different side of Edward and I liked it.

_Figures my two left feet would be my own undoing._

Just as I'd used his miss earlier to get away from him, Edward made full use of his opportunity to not only catch me as he'd promised, but to pin me on the floor and tickle me.

"Say you're sorry, Bella," he demanded as I squirmed and kicked from his fingers digging in for another assault on my ribs.

"Okay," I panted as I tried to breathe.

"Okay?" He wrapped his hands around my wrists and held them to the side of my head as he leaned over, his face hovering just a couple of inches from mine.

"I'm sorry," I said through my still heavy breaths.

"Promise?" He leaned in even closer.

I nodded, just barely able to do so with his lips nearly touching mine now.

"Hello?" we heard a man's voice call from somewhere we couldn't see, just as Edward's lips brushed against mine. "No one is supposed to be on the court without permission."

"Shit," he mumbled, hopping up and holding his hand out to me.

"Hello?" we heard again a little louder this time telling us whoever it was, was getting closer.

Edward grabbed my hand. "Come on, run."

We bolted for the door as fast as we could. I was shocked I hadn't tripped over my own feet again given Edward's legs were so much longer than mine and could take much longer strides as well, which had him practically dragging me behind him. We made it to his jeep, climbed in quickly, and sped away. Apparently even though the doors were unlocked, no one was really supposed to be on the court unless they were there on official school business. Despite my fear over nearly getting busted for trespassing, I couldn't find it in me to be upset with Edward when he'd admitted he knew we shouldn't be in there given how much fun I was having with him.

In fact when he stopped and parked back near the middle of the campus we both burst out in a fit of laughter over the situation until I found him leaning over. He reached up and cupped the back of my neck, pulling me to him and giving me the kiss he'd intended back on the floor of the athletic building.

Any disappointment I'd felt over not getting the kiss then was washed away as he kissed me hard and deeply, causing my toes to curl in my shoes.

_The boy definitely had kissing skills. _

After a few more quick pecks to my lips, we got out and walked for a while. Edward talked a little more about basketball and promised to take me to a game this year if I wanted him to. This time he was the one sporting a big toothy smile when I told him I'd love for him to do that.

We walked some more and he showed me the dorm building he'd been housed in his freshman year as well as some shortcuts for getting across campus faster if I was on foot. Afterwards we made our way back to his car and then hopped back in the jeep where he drove us to the basketball court I'd found him at last night.

"You ready to see my skills now, Swan?"

"You betcha, Cullen."

He had that up to no good glint in his eyes again, telling me he was up to something as he grabbed his ball from the back of the jeep and came around to where I was still sitting in my seat.

I followed him onto the outdoor court and watched as he dribbled the ball a little.

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the fence. "Ok, Dr. Cullen," I sang, "Let's see your mad basketball skills."

He nodded and jogged to the end of the court farthest from the net while dribbling the ball. He stopped and turned around to face the net. After dribbling it in place for a few moments, he glanced over at me and winked. Then focusing his attention back on the net, he took off quickly, dribbling the ball back down the court. Jumping with the ball at the last minute, he slammed it into the net with one hand, while hanging from the rim with the other, before he let go and dropped to the ground.

All I could do was stare as Edward went on to make a few other shots. He was giving me my very own, personal highlight reel, and it put to rest any doubts I had about his ability to play basketball. Not that I'd really had any to begin with, it was just fun to tease him. Besides I was reaping the rewards of that teasing by getting to watch him.

_And what a sight it was. Can a person spontaneously combust? 'Cause if so, I was doomed._

"Um…what?" I asked when I noticed him walking towards me. I'd been too dazzled by watching him I hadn't even heard him say anything the first time.

"I said, it's your turn now." He had a cat that swallowed the canary grin on his face.

"You…you want me to make those shots? Um, Edward, have you lost your friggin mind?" I shook my head back and forth slowly, trying to comprehend that he really wanted me to do this.

"Nope." His grin got wider, and more devious too.

"Did you forget already that I was tripping over my own feet just a little while ago?"

_I swear I'll never tease him again!_

"Oh no, I didn't forget. And instead of making those shots, I have a better idea," he suggested.

"What's that?" I asked with him now standing so close to me I could feel his warm breath on my face as he gazed down on me, watching me intently.

"You're going to play a game of horse with me."

"I am?" I squeaked.

"Yep. Unless you're too afraid of my stellar basketball skills," he offered, pressing into me as he hooked his hands on the fence on either side of my head.

"I don't suppose you'd take a rain-check?"

"Nope."

"Okay," I said, trying to muster some sort of confidence, knowing this wasn't going to end well.

He stepped back and then turned back to the court. Still somewhat in a fog that I was actually going to take part in any kind of a sport, I just stood there.

_Like that's really why your head is all fogged up._

"You coming?" he asked when he noticed I hadn't moved.

"Yeah," I said, finally able to move my feet and walk over to him. "But in all fairness…to give me any sort of a chance at this…I think we should play Mississippi or how about Streptococcus…maybe something even longer," I suggested playfully.

"Are you using medical lingo against me, Miss Swan?"

"Only if it's going to work."

Edward cracked up laughing. "Come here," he said, still laughing as he took my hand and pulled me to him. "Perhaps you I should give you a token of good luck."

"Like what?"

"This," he whispered, pressing his lips on mine, kissing me so long I was gasping for air when he pulled away. "And this," he said softly, taking the Baltimore hat off his head and placing it on mine backwards like he'd done last night.

_How the hell was I supposed to focus after that? All I wanted to do was collapse into a puddle of goo. _

***{SIB}***

"Pouting doesn't become you, Bella," Edward teased after nipping at my bottom lip that was sticking out as I sulked over losing our game of Mississippi.

I'd spelled out the whole word before he'd gotten to "Miss".

_He didn't miss, that was the problem. _

He slid his arms around me and pulled me closer to him.

"You cheated," I mumbled against his chest as I pretended to whine and act upset over him winning.

"That's insane, woman," he retorted with a chuckle.

"It's not."

"Then tell me how I cheated. How did I cheat when I clearly made each one of those shots? You can't fake the ball going through the net, Bright Eyes," he argued, though there was a definite hint of laughter in his words.

"You dazzled me," I replied, my face still buried in his chest. Even somewhat sweaty his scent was still intoxicating. Maybe even more so.

"I what?" He snickered.

"Dazzled me." I snorted as the words came out, practically giving myself away.

He full on laughed, shaking us both.

Nudging my chin up with his finger, he forced me to look up at him. "Please, please explain to me what it is I did that…that dazzled you."

"You kissed me," I murmured, not wanting to sound ridiculous and fighting to keep a straight face.

"I kissed you?"

"Mmm hmm."

"Well last time I checked kissing you was a good thing. Has that changed?" he asked.

"No," I answered while shaking my head at the same time. "That's the problem."

"Okay, you are going to have to explain this to me, Bright Eyes, because I am lost."

I sighed and quickly spit it out. "You kissed me senseless rendering me incapable of functioning, therefore leaving me dazzled, a puddle of goo, unable to have even a remote chance at even coming close to tying you, let along beating you."

"Is that so?"

I nodded.

"Well then there is only one thing to do then," he declared and before I could get a word out, his lips were on mine again in another searing, toe curling kiss that left me breathless once again.

_So worth losing. _

Feeling secure in his arms, I let myself slump against him as I basked in the after effects of his kiss. "You did it again." I said, my giggles muffled by his chest.

"I did?" he asked trying to come off as if he didn't know.

I nodded.

"Well then now there _really_ is only one thing left to do. You've left me no other choice." His body shook with his laughter.

"Wha—" My words were halted with him bending over and hoisting me over his shoulder. "Edward!" I screeched through a fit of giggles as he wobbled me slightly while trying to pick up the ball too. "Put me down," I ordered, smacking him on the rear.

"Nope, not yet. You claimed my kisses leave you unable to function so this is the only way I can make sure you get in the car safely."

I squirmed in an attempt to get loose but it was pointless with his next threat. "You keep squirming, Bright Eyes, and I'm going to tickle you again."

"That's not fair, Cullen," I huffed.

He laughed and then flipped me over, right into the seat of the jeep. "Just keeping you honest, Swan. You're the one who said I didn't play fair. I'm just proving your point."

"Sure, sure," I shot back at him.

"Quit pouting. You're too pretty to pout," he ordered, placing a quick peck on my lips before running around and hopping into the driver's seat. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yes. I'm starving," I admitted.

"Lunch coming right up," he said, starting the jeep and then shifting it into gear.

"I thought you said we were headed to lunch," I said when Edward parked his jeep along the harbor about fifteen minutes later. There wasn't a restaurant in sight as far as I could see. "I know you said we were eating by the harbor, but I don't see where."

"You'll see," he said jumping out of the jeep and hurrying around to open my door before I did it myself.

I nodded though I was still confused since all I saw was the harbor and pier, with many boats docked along it on one side of the walk way that was right in front of us and on the other side rows of several condo buildings. I imagined the view for those that lived in these buildings was quite pretty and picturesque.

"Come on," Edward nodded in the direction of the walkway. "How about a short walk along the pier before lunch?" He grabbed my hand and placed a quick kiss on my cheek.

"Okay," I replied with a smile, curious to see what he had up his sleeve. I didn't know how I knew he did, maybe it was the hint of a sly smile he had trying to break out, causing his lips to twitch slightly, but I was fairly sure he was up to something.

A short time into our walk, Edward had removed his hand from mine and slipped his arm behind me and tucked his hand snugly in the back pocket of my jeans, and tucking me snugly against his side. It felt as though I fit perfectly in the space—like it was molded exactly for me.

Being so much shorter than him I couldn't exactly mimic his position, but I was able to wrap my fingers around one of his belt loops and hold on to him just as securely as he was me.

Every once in a while Edward would lean over and kiss the top of my head, pull me closer to him, or brush his thumb across my rear. It was amazing, just being with him like this. We walked along the rows of condos that sat right on the water. We talked about the different boats we saw coming and going, and those that were sitting in their docks, along with pointing out different things that caught our attention as we took our time, strolling along without a care in the world.

Our walk led us to a row of condos that jutted out into the harbor like a peninsula and as we rounded it and made our way around to the other side, I saw a restaurant across the water.

"Is that where we're going for lunch?"

"Where?" he asked as he stopped and looked around like he couldn't see the bright blue awning and bright blue umbrellas shading the tables located outside of the restaurant.

"There!" I exclaimed and pointed to it. "You big goofball," I said as I swatted at him. "Don't tell me you can't see it."

"Oh, you mean Captain James' Crab House?" He was trying to act like he'd just noticed it, but I wasn't buying it.

"Yes."

"Nope, that's not it," he stated smugly. "Actually," he said, stepping behind me and placing both his hands on my shoulders and turning me back to face the row of condos behind us. "We're eating there." He leaned forward until his chin was nearly resting on my shoulder and pointed to the last condo in the row.

"What do you mean, there?" I turned my head to the left so I could see his face.

"We're having lunch at my place." That cocky glint was back in his eyes and he had a smirk that matched it.

"Your place? This is where you live?"

"Yep, and I hope you're hungry cuz I have a huge lunch prepared for us."

He took my hand again and started tugging me along with him.

"Wait," I ordered, pulling back on him.

He stopped and spun to face me.

"You made lunch for us?"

"Sure did."

"When?"

"This morning while I was waiting to pick you up. Is that okay? I mean if you'd rather go somewhere we can go back to the jeep and—"

I cut him off by stretching up on my toes and pressing my lips to his. It meant so much to me that he took the time to put together a lunch for us. It was so much more than us just going somewhere. So much more personal and caring. This day was going even better than I could have dreamed it would.

"It's perfect," I assured him as I ended the kiss. Without another word he smiled and we made our way to his condo.

Just as we reached the door, I paused as a wave of nervousness came over me. It didn't go unnoticed by Edward.

"Hey, what's wrong? We really can go somewhere else if you want," he offered.

"It's just…"

"What? You can tell me anything, Bella. I hope you know that." The playful, teasing glint he'd had in his eyes a few moments ago was now replaced with love, warmth and concern.

"Are your parents here?" I asked, my teeth grasping my bottom lip and pinching it tightly.

"I'm not sure about my mom, but my dad is at the hospital. Why?" But then as if he'd read my mind, he added, "If you're worried what they think about what happened between us, don't. I can promise you they were on your side all along. They don't harbor any bad feelings towards you. I promise."

"Really?"

"Really," he assured me, pulling me against him for a tight hug to help calm my fears.

We stood there for a few seconds in each other's arms until Edward finally stepped back and dug his keys from his pocket and let us in the door.

The warm pressure of his hand resting against the small of my back helped to alleviate some of my unease, but not completely. I still had a small amount of worry churning through me over seeing his parents again. It wasn't that I didn't believe what Edward had told me about how they felt…I had come to know what wonderful people Carlisle and Esme Cullen were over the summer. I guess it was just so hard to accept how they could support me when my own parents didn't.

"Welcome to Casa de Cullen," Edward said, holding the hand of his free arm out, waving it like he was a furniture showroom salesman.

_He'd probably make a small fortune just by flashing any female customers that killer smile of his._

I took a few steps forward, brushing my hand over the soft cloth top of the large pool table that sat in the center of the room as I looked around. The room was tastefully decorated, but not over the top. Everything in the room fit perfectly together. From the oversized, overstuffed, white sofa and chairs, to the fireplace, big flat screen TV, to the welcoming window seat. It gave off a warm and cozy, relaxing atmosphere.

"This is nice. I like it. Is this where you watch all the big sports games? Your beloved Orioles?"

"Yeah."

Something in his voice sounded a bit off. Not bad—just…unsure. I turned around to face him and was met with him watching me with a peculiar look on his face. "What?"

Moving closer to me, he reached up and brushed my hair back off my forehead. Running his fingers through it, he lingered at the ends as he twisted a soft curl around his index finger. My eyes slid closed as I relished in the sensation of him playing with my hair. I loved it.

I heard Edward sigh softly. "You're not the only one with insecurities and worries."

My eyes popped wide open upon hearing his words.

"What do you mean?" I asked, searching for his hand with mine and twining our fingers together tightly when I'd found it.

He pulled me over to the sofa. Sitting down, he gently grasped me by my hips and steered me onto his lap when I tried to sit next to him.

Without having to be prompted he took a long slow breathe and began. "It's a bit surreal to see you here…In my house. Don't get me wrong, it's amazing…I…things have just changed so fast for us. I didn't know if we'd ever work things out, much less if I'd ever get to bring you here."

I nodded, understanding exactly how he felt. "I think that it will probably take us both a little time to…I don't know…let our guard down…relax completely. These past few weeks haven't been easy for either of us."

"No they haven't," he agreed.

"But what's important is that we both want this to work. We want to be together and are both in this all the way. Right?"

"Absolutely," he confirmed. The blazing determination in his eyes told me he was absolutely in this with me one hundred percent. He wanted it just as badly as I did. However, his next question surprised me a bit. "How long did you lay in bed last night before you fell asleep?"

"A while." After Edward had dropped me off, I'd immediately crawled into bed, but I had laid there staring out my window for at least an hour, maybe more. Although, once I'd drifted off, I had slept like the dead until hearing my phone ring this morning. Resolving things with Edward had allowed me to sleep deeply for the first time in weeks and I must have really needed the rest to have slept so long. "Why?"

"Just wondering…How long you laid in bed thinking about everything we talked about." His eyes were boring into mine as if he was inside my head seeing what I'd just been thinking about.

_How did he know? _

"Um…how did you—"

"Know?" he interjected.

"Yeah."

He sighed again, smiling softly. "Because I did the same thing, Bella. I kept going over and over our talk in my head so many times, trying to make sure that I had said everything that I'd needed to. That I'd wanted to, to make sure that you believed me and know how sorry I am."

"You did. And I promise I do," I assured him, hearing the insecurity in his voice and seeing it in the way his eyebrows furrowed tightly, causing the skin between them to wrinkle.

Softly I pressed my fingertips against the lines to smooth them out. This time his eyes closed under my touch and his features softened again, the lines fading away.

"Good," he whispered and opened his eyes. "I don't want to dwell on it, because I want for us to move on to happier times, but I hope you know that if at any time you have any more questions, all you have to do is ask. I'll tell you anything you want to know, Bella."

While I was grateful that he was openly sharing how he felt now, I didn't want him to feel like he had to keep apologizing to me constantly. All that would do was fuel the guilt he had over his actions and keep the wounds open, preventing us from truly moving on.

I decided to nip that problem in the bud now. As I'd just told him, I knew it would take time for us to move on completely, but I wanted it to start now.

"Same here. I'm sorry too, Edward. And I think now that we've both agreed that we are going to be completely honest with each other from here on out and that we want to put what's happened behind us, one of the first things we need to stop doing is apologizing."

He started to say something, but I shushed him quickly by sliding my fingers over his mouth so I could finish first.

"I'm not saying we should forget the mistakes we've both made. That would only leave us open to repeat them. And while I'm sure there will be times when we both might makes mistakes again, I don't think it would be good for either of us if we both feel like we need to say 'I'm sorry' constantly. I think it would make us both feel like the other one doesn't fully believe or forgive the other and we need to convince them still. If we both truly accept each other's reasons and apologies for what we've done, then we need to leave what's in the past, in the past. Does that make sense to you?" I asked hoping, he understood what I meant.

"Yes. And you're right."

"So in the name of moving on, we both agree no more apologies for what's in the past. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"Good. Now I think you should feed me that lunch you promised me before I turn into an angry, hungry bear," I suggested to lighten the mood.

"Mmm, how about a kiss first?"

"You never have to ask to kiss me, Edward," I whispered, leaning closer to him, sliding my hand around to the back of his neck, wanting to grasp the soft hairs at the nape of his neck, but only being able to scratch them through the short buzz cut he had.

My eyes remained locked on his as he gazed at my mouth for a few seconds. Raising his gaze to mine he whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," I was barely able to reply before his warm mouth was covering mine.

His lips were warm, soft and firm as they began to explore mine. His hand crept up my arm, over my shoulder as it came to a stop, cupping my jaw. His thumb caressed my cheek a few times before he slid his hand down along my neck to the back, holding my head in place as he angled his head to deepen the kiss. As his mouth opened against mine, and his tongue traced my bottom lip before slipping inside, I wrapped both of my arms around him as I turned to straddle his lap. I met his tongue with mine and suddenly I was feeling more than I ever had with any other kiss we'd shared. It was like I was on a magic carpet ride, soaring through the sky.

What had started as a gentle kiss had quickly become demanding on both our parts as our lips and tongues continued to move in harmony. Edward's hands drifted down my back as he encased me in his arms and pulled me to him until there was no more space between us. I whimpered at the same time he groaned from the close contact of our bodies. The reactions we were both beginning to feel caused us both to pull back simultaneously. With our foreheads still resting against each other's, we panted trying to catch our breath.

When I finally regained my bearings, I whispered to him, "Have I told you how much I've missed kissing you?"

"No, but it's duly noted and I promise to make sure you never miss it again," he returned still somewhat out of breath.

"Oh yeah? That a promise, huh?"

"Damn right it is." He placed a soft chaste kiss on my lips. "Bella, you should be kissed every day, every hour, every minute. And I will make it my mission to see that it happens."

"As much as I love the idea of that, how will I ever get anything else done if our lips are permanently attached? I mean every minute?" I teased.

"Okay, so maybe every minute is a bit much. But every day and every hour possible…that _is_ doable."

"You got yourself a deal, Cullen. Now can we please eat?"

We both laughed when on cue my stomach growled.

"Let's go." He held my hand as I climbed off his lap and pulled him off the sofa and waited for him to lead the way to the kitchen.

Edward kept hold of my hand as he led me up the stairs to the main living level of the condo. At the top of the stairs, the room opened to a large combination living, dining and kitchen area. The space was brightly lit by the sunlight pouring in through the large window and the wide sliding glass doors located on the wall beside it. All three areas were beautifully decorated without being stuffy or overdone. It was very much Esme—classically well-done, but still completely comfortably warm and inviting.

"You guys have a thing for white sofas," I playfully accused, noticing the slightly more modern large white leather sectional and matching ottoman in the center of the living room area.

"My mom does," he replied. "She loves to change the look from time to time and by using the white sofas, she can do so without having to buy new furniture. At least that's what she claims."

"Makes sense. You'd only have to switch out the stuff like pillows, rugs, and some other accessories and presto, you have a whole new look."

"Look at you. If becoming a nurse doesn't work, you can become an interior decorator," Edward suggested playfully.

"Um…no. I was just channeling Al for a minute. I've seen her mom do the same thing at their house countless times. Al would always be right in the middle of it helping her mom pick and choose things, which inevitably led to me listening to her go on and on about it every time," I said shooting down his idea instantly. "I have a hard enough time coordinating my clothes to even think about putting together a room design."

His lips curved into the one sided smile of his that I loved so much. "Guess it's a good thing you'll be a great nurse then, huh?"

I smiled back at his confidence in me. "Yep."

"Eat first or five cent tour?" he asked, walking further into the room.

"Eat."

"Okay, then you have to go sit over on the couch and promise not to peek over this way while I get things set up," he ordered.

"Why? It's just lunch?"

"No it's not, Miss Swan. It's our first official date and it's actually another first for me. I've never fixed lunch or any other meal for any other girl before, so let me have my minute of fun and you just go sit your cute little rear end down and enjoy letting me. Okay?"

"Yes, sir," I said with a salute. I walked over to the sectional and picked up a magazine sitting on the ottoman to occupy myself while Edward did whatever it was he needed to, to get our lunch ready. It also occurred to me then that it appeared his mom wasn't here. I knew I'd have to see Edward's parents sooner or later, but I wanted things to be more back to normal for Edward and me first. _You're overreacting, Bella. His parents are on your side. He told you that himself._ Remembering what Edward had said,I relaxed and sank back into the soft couch with the magazine.

"You're tired, Bright Eyes." I felt Edward's warm breath on my neck as I heard his warm voice next to my ear.

"Please tell me I did not fall asleep," I begged softly.

"You did. But only for a few minutes." He kissed my cheek softly. "You want to take a nap? I can put everything back in the fridge."

"Ummmm…" I hummed as I actually contemplated the idea of a nap for a few seconds. "Eat. I really am, really hungry."

"Then come on," he urged.

I stretched and stifled a yawn as I stood up. "Where's the food?" I asked when I noticed the counter and table were both empty.

"This way," he said, taking my hand and leading me out the sliding glass doors that were now open.

_Geez I must have really been out of it to have not heard him walking past me or opening the doors._

Stepping out the doors, I was pleasantly surprised to see Edward had set up a picnic of sorts for us. Spread on the floor was a plaid blanket, a picnic basket, and small cooler along with a couple of cushions for us to sit on.

"Edward this is…"

"Cheesy? Dorky?" he asked.

"No. It's perfect," I said, smiling up at him as I shaded my eyes against the sun and sat down on the cushion in front of me, holding my hand out for him to join me.

"I hope you like what I made," he said as he popped open the cooler and began taking out the food. "I made turkey and bacon sandwiches and we have some leftover potato salad that my mom made for lunch yesterday."

"Sounds yummy."

Edward flipped open the basket and pulled out plastic plates, forks, cups and napkins. "Okay so we have lettuce, tomato, and mayo for the sandwiches and soda or water to drink and if there is something else you'd like, I'm sure we probably have it in the fridge."

"I'm good with all this. Tomato and mayo would be great and some soda too."

Edward handed me the toppings and as I added them to my sandwich, he spooned out some potato salad for us both on our plates, then filled both our cups with Mountain Dew.

We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Edward spoke. "I love sitting out here, watching the boats come and go.

"It's really great. I can see why you'd like it so much," I agreed, looking out over the harbor. The view really was awesome, not to mention quiet and relaxing.

After we finished eating, we cleaned up and Edward took me on a tour of the rest of the condo. I absolutely loved his parents' room. It was so warm and inviting and I could totally picture Carlisle and Esme relaxing in it.

Their room had a large fireplace similar to the one in the living room that was flanked on both sides by built in bookcases. The exterior wall of the room was also similar to the living room in that it had a large, almost ceiling to floor window and a balcony too. Both were softened by matching valances and draperies. Two large chairs sat across from the fireplace and a beautiful sleigh bed was on the wall behind them. All of this was tied together by a large floral print rug.

"They have an even better view of the harbor than the living room balcony does," Edward said softly as he stood behind me, looking out his parents' balcony doors.

"Yes they do," I agreed, leaning back against him.

"You ready to see the rest?" he asked, resting his chin on the top of my head.

"Yep."

Next Edward showed me the guest bedroom and then his room. His room was a drastic contrast to his parents' room. Edward's room was decorated in bold colors—red, gray, white and black. One end of his room held his large king sized bed, with a flat screen TV mounted to the wall across from it, and the other side had his desk, with Baltimore Orioles hanging on the wall, and a few bookshelves filled with books, magazines, a baseball glove and a trophy. The room was simple and completely Edward.

Edward sat on the end of his bed and pulled me so I was standing between his legs. His hands crept up my legs until they rested firmly on my hips.

"So what do ya think?"

"I like it. It's very you," I answered him honestly, even though I had a little voice in my head nagging me to ask him a question that I wasn't sure I wanted the answer to.

By the way he peered up at me with one eyebrow slightly cocked, I had a feeling I hadn't hid what I was thinking.

I was right.

"But?" he asked. "Tell me what you're thinking. I can see there is something on your mind."

I nodded.

"Bella," he said, turning me and tugging on my jeans so I was forced to sit on his leg. "Hey, remember what we promised each other." His open hand raised my chin, aligning my gaze with his. "Honesty…communication—you can tell me anything."

"It's stupid really… I don't even know why I'm thinking it…"

"Obviously it's not stupid if it's causing you to think so hard. So why don't you tell me and let me put your mind at ease about whatever it is."

A half snort, half snicker flew out of my mouth uncontrollably as I wondered if his answer would really put my mind at ease or not.

"Well..." he prodded for an answer, letting the word hang.

I blew out a loud breath and then just ripped the band-aid off so to speak, spewing the words out so fast it'd be amazing if he would understand me. "I was just wondering how many girls you've had here before me."

"That's what's bugging you, huh, Miss Swan?" He was smiling so big, his eyes were nearly squinting as he held my gaze and chuckled lightly. He was clearly entertained.

_If he laughs at me I am not going to be happy._

"Mmm hmm," I mumbled, nodding at the same time, then looking down at my hands and picking at my fingernails, regretting I'd even asked.

In a move so fast it caused me to gasp, Edward flipped me over, pressing me onto his bed as he hovered over me. "Guess you'd like me to answer that question for ya?" he teased, skimming his nose along my neck, sending shivers down my spine from the sensations it caused in me.

_Is he trying to soften the blow by getting me all worked up and distracted?_

"It'd be nice of you to," I managed to squeeze out while trying to maintain some sense of composure_._

_Damn man knew exactly what he was doing to me._

"Would you believe me if I told you none?" he asked placing a soft kiss to the area just behind my ear.

Finding my voice I replied, "If you were being honest I would."

He rose up far enough so he could look into my eyes. "It's the truth, Bella. You, my Bright Eyes, are the first."

"Honestly?"

"You don't believe me?" he asked pulling back a little, his voice taking on a slightly more serious tone.

"It's not that, it's just…I don't know…hard to fathom."

"Why?"

"_Why?"_ I repeated his question in my head.

"I guess because obviously I'm not your first girlfriend. I'm not your first anything, and you're older, so…I just figured…"

"Nope. But I have brought other girls here—to the house. The girlfriend before my last one came here. It was only once and she stayed downstairs in the game room, we weren't here for long. We had dropped by for me to pick something up and then left. After that day the relationship never lasted long enough for me to ever bring her back. She never even met my parents."

"Okay. What about the others?"

"My last girlfriend, Leah, she was here at the house several times."

"But never here in your room?" I asked, this time I was the one quirking my eyebrow at him.

"No."

"Why?" I asked, shooting his last question back at him.

"To be honest, now that I think about it, I'm not really sure. It may be because most of the time we were dating, one of my parents were usually here. She came over for dinner from time to time, to hang out, do homework…normal stuff couples do. But for some reason I just never felt the urge to show her my room and she never asked. I don't know…I can't really explain it. Maybe I had some weird sixth sense about my relationship with her and I knew somehow that it wouldn't last. All I know is, I never felt the need to bring her in here."

"Were you ever in her room?" I asked hesitantly, again not really knowing if I really wanted to know, but unable to stop myself from asking.

"Yes. Her parents were gone a lot and you could say we took advantage of that fact."

The look in his eyes told me he was torn over wanting to be honest with me and his dislike over telling me the details of his past relationship, if only so he didn't hurt me by sharing his past.

It was my turn to comfort him. "It's okay. Your past is your past. It's not like I didn't know that you'd had other girlfriends…that you have more experience in _that _area."

"I'm glad you feel that way." He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. "And yes, Bella, you aren't my first for a lot of things, but you are the first girl I have ever loved and that's a very important first in my opinion."

"It is." I whispered.

He watched me for a couple of seconds, I think seeing if there'd be any sign of doubt in my eyes. However he must not have seen any, because a second later his lips were on mine. This time his lips were tender, loving and I could feel him pouring all his emotions into the kiss, reassuring me of everything he'd just said. It was my favorite kiss by far, and I never wanted it to end.

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**I've posted pictures of the area along the harbor where Edward and Bella were walking as well as pictures of Edward's condo over on my blog. **

**Thanks for sticking with me. Let me know what ya think!**

**See ya next time,**

**EA**


	20. I'll Stand By You

**Disclaimer: **

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

The original aspects of this story—all of the original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted_. **Unauthorized use of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms—it's theft. **_I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. **_No reproduction, downloading, copying, reposting, or any other kind of redistribution of this story or its contents is permitted without my express written authorization._**

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**Important Author's note at the end. Please read. **

***{Edward}***

Not sure if Bella wanted to leave right away or stay here for a while longer, I said," We can head over to the library right away or hang out here for a bit. Whatever you want to do is fine with me." With her hand still clasped securely in mine, I tugged Bella down on the couch with me and pulled her close, as I waited for her reply. It was as if I couldn't get her close enough to me. I didn't want there to be any space between us, even if I knew I had to behave myself and control the urges that wanted to take over.

A few minutes ago as we'd lain hidden away, kissing on my bed, it hadn't taken long for me to know I needed to get her out of my room. I'd barely been able to hang on to some sort of sanity and keep us from going further than we should after the heated kisses we'd shared. My body had been screaming at me to ravish her, but I knew we weren't close to being ready for that even when her hand had clawed at my shirt for leverage as she'd hitched her leg up over mine and pressed herself against me towards the end of our make-out session, telling me her body had been screaming the same thing at her.

I was burning with desire for her; she affected me more than anyone ever had before and on a much deeper level. Waiting until the time was right for us to make love wouldn't be easy, it would be pure torture, but I knew it would be worth it. Bella deserved her first time to be a beautiful experience that she'd never forget and if I was lucky enough to be her first I'd make sure it was. She deserved to be treated like a princess, to be shown what an incredible person she was, especially after the way her parents have treated her. It still baffled me, completely blew my mind, how they could just blow her off, shuck their responsibility to their child, and cut ties with her. Yes, when the time came for Bella and I to make love for the first time—and I knew we'd get there eventually because I had no intention of ever letting her go again—it'd be a special, meaningful experience for us both. One she wouldn't regret.

But not now, not yet. It was too soon. We still needed to work through rebuilding our relationship. We needed to rebuild our trust in one another and be more secure in our relationship. And that didn't mean I felt as if we didn't have trust now or any security at all in where things stood between us. We obviously trusted our feelings enough to want to be together despite the issues that had arisen to drive us apart. But we needed more time to form a more solid relationship between us. Besides it was simply too soon period. We just got back together and I'd never want her to have any reason at all to think that sex was the reason for that, because it absolutely wasn't.

Now that we were back in the living room it was much easier to behave, although I didn't think I'd ever get enough of kissing her. Kissing Bella was sweeter than cotton candy and I didn't think I'd ever get my fill.

"I shouldn't need any more than about an hour at the library, so you decide. How much research do you have to do?" she asked, passing the decision off to me.

"I might need a little more time than that. Do you mind being there with me?" I asked hoping she didn't. "I can take you home and go back if you want."

I ran my fingers through her hair, threading them through the soft strands repeatedly as I waited for her answer, hoping she could hear me chanting in my head as I silently begged her to stay with me.

She smiled softly and nodded before backing her response with her words. "Edward, I want to spend as much time as we can together. I've missed you so much. If you need to be there longer, that's fine. I'll just keep working too."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely. I might only need about an hour to do the research I need, but I can keep working. Besides it'd be stupid for you to stop in the middle of your research and take me home, only to go back and have to start all over again. So please, don't worry about it."

"Well then it's settled."

"Sounds good." Bella then leaned forward and snatched the remote off the table as if she'd read my mind and had known that was what I was going to do next. "What's on?" she asked as she began flipping through the channels.

"If you give me the remote, I'll see what I can find," I suggested.

"No way, buddy. You'll probably put it on some sports channel and then refuse to change it." She grinned widely as she quickly tossed the remote into her hand furthest away from me as I attempted to snatch it from her.

"Nice. Where'd you learn that move?" I leaned forward to try and kiss her, thinking maybe I could distract her long enough to grab the remote.

"Watching Al and her sister fight over the remote at her house." She leaned back, totally seeing through my guise. "Think you're slick huh, Cullen?" She smirked and wagged her finger at me as she playfully chastised me.

"Can't blame a guy for trying." I chuckled and gave up. "So how old is her sister and have you ever joined in?" I asked, curious if she just sat back and watched the two sisters battle it out or if she took sides and joined in. I wondered if she would automatically take her best friend's side or if she'd ever teamed up with Alice's sister?

As feisty as Alice appeared to be just from the short amount of time I'd spent around her, I couldn't imagine she'd quit or give in until she'd gotten her way. And imagining that her sister could be even feistier than she was, was a scary thought. Bella was spunky and she had a sarcastic side of her that I actually loved, but she didn't have the utter stubbornness and the have to have her way mentality that Alice seemed to have. It made me hope for Jasper's sake that he never pissed her off, because I had a feeling Alice would be the one to come out on top in any argument they'd have.

"Once in a while I did. Others I just sat back and watched. On occasion they could get pretty vicious, ending with them rolling around on the floor like a tamer version of one of those cage fights. There was one time their mom had to break them apart and ground them both."

"Really? Guess that was a bummer for you since you had to then go home."

"Nope," she said and giggled. "Their mom handed me the remote and told me since I was the only one acting my age, I was more than welcome to stay and watch whatever I wanted."

"That's great. Did you?"

"Yep," she replied as she flipped through a few more channels, finally leaving it on some cooking show I'd never seen before.

_And she thought guys were cliché on what they always watched. _

We settled into comfortable positions with her nestled up against my side and her head resting on me. Unable to resist the urge to play with her hair, my fingers found themselves tangled in her long strands again.

It wasn't but maybe fifteen, twenty minutes later when I heard soft snores coming from her and looked down to see she was sleeping. I closed my eyes not wanting to move, feeling a bit tired myself, and was just starting to doze off when I heard the click of the front door opening and closing.

"Hey. How'd your day with Bella go?" my mom asked, sitting her purse down on the counter.

"Shhh," I said at the same time I motioned to a sleeping Bella on the couch next to me.

"Oh, sorry," my mom replied softly. "Did you guys have a good day?"

"We did." I couldn't fight the smile that spread across my face as I slowly got up without waking Bella. I followed my mom over to the kitchen area where I filled her in on our day so far as I helped her put away the groceries she'd bought.

When I was finished telling her, she hugged me and said, "If you hadn't told me, I'd be able to see things are good by the smile on your face and the twinkle in your eyes. It's good to see you happy again."

"It feels good too, Mom. I love her and I'm just glad that I didn't mess things up too badly."

"I know you do. Just remember honesty and communication are the keys."

"I will," I told her.

_I would too. If I had my way, nothing would ever come between Bella and me again._

Thinking I could make good use of my time while Bella napped, I started to head down to the jeep and grab my backpack so I could get a start on my homework.

"Shoot," I heard my mom grumble from the kitchen.

"You okay, Mom?" I called before going any further down the stairs.

When she didn't reply right away, I made my way back to the kitchen.

"Mom?"

"I'm fine. I just realized I should have gotten some something at the store," she told me as she kept digging though the fridge. "I swore I had some eggs in here."

"You did. Dad and I had them for breakfast. I was up early unable to go back to sleep and he fixed them for us before he left for the hospital," I confessed.

"So anxious to start your day with Bella you couldn't sleep, huh?"

"Yes I was." I chuckled, knowing there was no point in denying the obvious. "Do you need me to go get you some more?"

"Would you please?" she asked.

"Sure. If Bella wakes up just tell her I'll be right back."

"I will. You're acting like she's going to disappear," she accused.

"I am not."

_At least I didn't think I was. Was I?_

"Besides if she does happen to wake up, I'm sure I can entertain her for a few minutes while you're gone," she assured me. "Now go on. Get out of here so you can get back to her."

"Yes, ma'am," I replied and turned to get on my way.

Nearly a half hour later I was on my way up the stairs to the main level of our condo when I was stopped dead in my tracks by what sounded like my girlfriend crying. Unable to move as I heard her sobs, I stood there listening, worried about what she could be so upset over.

_Had she changed her mind? Did she regret us getting back together?_

"No. She wouldn't do that," I whispered to myself so softly I barely heard the words. But even as I told myself it couldn't be true, my feet remained glued to the steps and my ears tuned in perfectly to her voice.

With her next sentence though, I knew exactly why she was crying. "I…I just don't understand. How can Edward love me so much in such a short time when my own parents don't? How can people I've barely known for more than a few months, you and Carlisle, care so much for me when my own parents have for all intents and purposes, abandoned me? I just wish I could understand," Bella cried.

_Did she not understand how truly wonderful she was?_

How the hell had she and my mother gotten on this topic? I had a hard time believing my mother would just bring it up. So had Bella?

"Oh, Bella, honey," I heard my mother coo in a soft soothing tone. "You had a horrible dream, dear, and now it's got you all frazzled."

"Damn it," I muttered under my breath, internally kicking myself hearing that Bella had, had a nightmare about her parents and I hadn't been there for her.

"But it felt so real. It was so vivid," Bella said. "My parents just kept taunting me, telling me I was nothing and that no one would ever want me and that I'd go crying back to them or I'd be all alone the rest of my life."

Hearing her in so much pain made me want to rip her parents' heads off.

"You look at me right now, Isabella. It isn't just Edward who loves you. Carlisle and I have come to love you as well. You might not realize it now, but I have a very strong feeling you and Edward are going to be together for a very long time to come. We will all be here for you, to help you through whatever life throws at you. And now that Carlisle has made amends with his family, I am sure they will love you too once they get to know you. In fact I've heard that my niece and nephew are both very fond of you already. You will have people around you. You're a part of our family now and we take care of those we love."

"Thank you, Esme. That means so much to me. Edward is lucky to have such an amazing and loving mother," Bella said in a soft shaky voice.

"You're welcome. Just don't ever forget it," my mother ordered her in a stern yet loving way.

"I won't. I promise."

"Good. Now why don't you go take a few minutes and freshen up in the bathroom? I'm sure Edward will be back soon."

"Okay," Bella agreed.

After listening for the sound of Bella's footsteps to get far enough away, I made my way upstairs. I'd no sooner taken one step into the living room when my mother turned from where she was sitting on the couch and asked as she stood up, "How long were you listening?"

"H—"

I had barely even opened my mouth to ask her how she knew, when she replied, "I've had enough practice listening to you sneak in and out of this house with Emmett, that I know every sound that door makes no matter how slight it might be. It's called mother's hearing; you'll greatly appreciate it one day when it's your wife who has it."

I shook my head back and forth, smiling, knowing there was no point in even trying to deny it.

"Well?" she asked. "We've only got so much time before Bella comes out of the bathroom."

"The part where she was talking about how she doesn't understand why we care—love her so much and her own parents don't."

"Thought that's when I heard you come in." She smiled knowingly at me as she nodded and continued. "Then let me quickly fill you in on the rest. She woke up crying out the word no over and over in her sleep. My guess is she was trying to deny in her dream what her parents were telling her."

"Yeah I heard her mention that. I'd like to give them both a piece of my mind. I'm just as confused over it as she is, Mom. How do I help her get past this, see what a beautiful person she is on the inside and out?" I asked, hoping she could provide me with some insight on the situation.

"Well for starters you need to be honest with her about what you heard and even this conversation we are having now. You can't afford any secrets from her, not that you'd keep any, mind you. I'm just being thorough here."

"I get what you mean."

"Not now, but later when you're alone, talk to her, tell her what you heard and so on. I suspect the turmoil and emotional roller coaster she's been on over what's happened between the two of you, your reunion, and her attempt to deal with the drama of what her parents have done is finally catching up with her. She is going to need the support of everyone around her, but I believe she is going to need yours the most, Son."

I nodded in agreement, knowing I'd be there for Bella in any way, shape, or form she needed me to be.

"Let her talk about how she feels, let her get her emotions out in whatever way is beneficial to her, as long as you don't think it's harmful to her. Not that I think Bella is any sort of threat to herself, because I don't. I believe if everyone around her, who loves and cares about her, rallies around her and shows her how good of a person she really is, she'll pull through this just fine. It's just going to take her some time to come to terms with and work through the slew of emotions she's dealing with."

"Makes sense," I told her. "And I'll be there for her however she needs me to be and as much as she needs me to be."

"I knew you would be." She took a couple of steps towards me to close the gap between us and pulled me into a warm hug. "One more thing, Edward," she said, taking a step back, placing her hand firmly on my arm. "I don't know how far the physical side of things has gotten with you and Bella, but now is not the time to be pressing her for more."

"I would nev—" She raised her hand cutting me off before I could finish.

"Didn't think you would. But I do know all about things getting out of hand when you don't mean for them too. She needs some time to work through this first. You will both know when the time is right if it hasn't gone that far yet."

"It hasn't."

"I don't need details or specifics. You're both adults capable of making decisions about that sort of thing on your own. I'd just hate to see her use the physical aspect of things to try and sooth the hurt she's feeling and later have regrets."

"I understand, Mom."

"I knew you would. Now why don't you go check on her?"

I nodded again and after giving my mom another hug and thanking her, I headed down the hall towards the bathroom.

When I reached the bathroom door, I found it opened enough to see Bella's reflection in the mirror. I watched as she splashed some water on her face and dried it off. Afterwards she pulled an elastic band from her wrist and used her fingers to comb her hair back, securing it into a ponytail.

I nudged the door open a little further and slipped into the small space quietly. "It doesn't matter what you do, you're still beautiful." I removed her hand from the long strand of hair she was fussing over and tucked it back behind her ear. "What?" I asked when she looked at me like I was crazy.

"Nothing," she mumbled as she shook her head.

"Look at me, Bella," I demanded softly as I cupped her face with both my hands and gently forced her to do as I had asked. When she had her gaze locked with mine, I continued. "I know you've been through a lot lately—the blowout with your mom, and what happened between us, and I can see that it has you doubting everything about yourself. You might not believe it right now, but I promise you one day you will look in the mirror and you will see what I do. You will see what Alice, Skylar, my parents, and probably lots of other people see."

"And just what is that?" she asked.

"An incredibly smart, beautiful, young woman. One who is not only beautiful on the outside, but one who is even more beautiful on the inside. You have such a caring, loving and compassionate heart, Bella. Don't let your parents' faults project onto you how you feel about yourself. Whatever issues they have or whatever fucked up ideas they have in their heads about how you should live your life or who you should be is just that—theirs. No one else's. The rest of us see and know the real you. The person you want to be, and she's amazing and incredible and I'm damn lucky to have a second chance with her."

"Do you really mean that?"

I stared at her in shock for a second. But when I saw the questions in her eyes, the need for me to reassure her I wasn't going to vanish on her again, it really hit me that with all she had been through and the way I'd initially reacted to finding out who she was, her dream, and all the emotions of us just beginning to put our relationship back together, that it was completely understandable why she'd still question things.

"Yes I do, Bella. I'm not going anywhere, not unless you send me away. And even then I don't know if I could walk away from you again. I'm here for the long haul. I love you and I mean that. I _will _be here for you and so will your friends. But more importantly than what I or anyone else believes, you need to believe it. Can you do that? And not for me, or anyone else. Can you do that for _you_, Bella?"

"I want to," she replied with sincerity. "I used to be so confident and so sure of who I was and what I wanted. I want to be that person again."

"Then that's half the battle, baby." I leaned down and kissed her lips softly. "You can do this. You can shake this monkey that your parents have dumped on your back and move past it. You've got me, my parents and all your friends around you to help you through it. We all love you and are going to be there for you. Okay?"

"Okay."

I pulled her to me and held her tightly, wrapped in my arms, hoping it allowed her to feel the strength of my love for her and feel secure. After a few moments I kissed the top of her head and asked, "You ready to head on over to the library now?"

"Yeah, but I have a question for you first." I felt her tug on my hand, stopping me from moving away from her.

"You can ask me anything, Bright Eyes."

"Did your mom tell you about my dream?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed and told her, "I was going to wait and talk to you about this later, but I guess we can just do it now. But not here in the bathroom. Come on." I gripped her hand tighter and led her to my room.

Once there we sat down on my bed facing each other. I grasped both her hands in mine as she searched my face for answers with her big brown eyes. Not wanting to worry her, I dove right in, "On my way up the stairs after I went to the store for my mom, I heard you crying. It equally surprised and worried me and before I realized what I was doing, I was standing there listening to the conversation you were having with my mom."

"Worried? You were worried but yet you stood there listening? I'm not sure I understand why, Edward."

"Yes. But I wasn't just worried for the obvious reason, which would be, why is my girlfriend crying," I explained.

"Then why?" The puzzled look on her face told me I was only confusing her more so I needed to just say what I had to say and get it over with.

"For a second…a very brief moment, I thought maybe you had changed your mind about us. That you were regretting giving us a second go at things."

I watched as her facial expression changed while she mulled over my admission. Her features changed from the look of curiosity she had worn as she listened to what I'd said, to one with her eyebrows scrunched together tightly in thought, to a soft smile as she shook her head back and forth a little and then gazed up at me.

"What?" I asked not sure what to make of her reaction. "You have to tell me what's going on in that head of yours because I can't read you at all right now," I requested. "Your reaction isn't anything at all how I imagined it might be."

"Just what were you expecting? Did you think I'd run off screaming at you for eavesdropping on my conversation with your mother?" She had a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice and in the look on her face too. I could only hope that this was the vibrant, snarky girl I'd met on the plane back in June coming out to play, and that she wasn't really pissed at me.

_Though she'd kinda have every right to be since I did listen when I technically shouldn't have. _

"Um, maybe something like that. To be honest I wasn't really sure. I just hoped that you'd give me the chance to explain and then understand why I did. I can usually get a better read on what you're thinking and right now…well I've got nothing."

"Is it usually that easy?"

"What?"

"To read my emotions."

"A lot of the time yeah."

"Hmm, I didn't think I was that transparent."

"Well actually you're not. But I spent a lot of time watching you back on the island trying to figure you out. Even before we acknowledged our feelings, it was next to impossible for me to keep my eyes off of you. Your eyes are very telling, Miss Swan. You know, windows to the soul and all that."

"Huh," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I guess maybe we just might be quite the pair, Mr. Cullen."

"I tend to think we are, but what is it that has you saying that right now?" I was completely intrigued by what she might be thinking. One thing I had definitely learned about Bella in the short time I'd known her was that she could be utterly and completely unpredictable. It was one of the things I loved about her too. She wasn't like anyone I had ever known.

"You said you heard what your mom and I were talking about right?"

"Yeah."

"So then you know I had a not so nice dream about my mother while I was sleeping."

I nodded.

"Well one of the things she said to me in my dream was that I wasn't good enough for you and that your family would never accept me as being good enough for you. So I guess we both have similar doubts and fears since you were worried I had changed my mind."

She pulled her bottom lip in her mouth and chewed on it nervously, then looked down and toyed with the hem of her shirt.

This time I knew exactly what she was thinking. She was allowing herself to wallow in her mother's words and I had to put a stop to it now. "Bella, look at me please," I ordered softly. She hesitated for a second but then did as I'd asked. "I can understand how upsetting your dream must have been. But I can guarantee you with one hundred percent accuracy that your mother's words are nothing, and mean nothing. They are so far from the truth, it's…it's insane.

"Bella, my parents love and adore you. And you already know how Rose and Jasper feel, they care about you too, not that it matters to me how any of them feel. I love you and that's all that matters—that's what's important. Sure I'd be upset if my parents didn't care for you the way they do, but it doesn't matter because they do care for you. And I am sure that once my aunt, uncle and grandmother meet you, they will love you too. Heck my uncle thinks it's a hoot about us. He thinks its total irony that a Cullen male has fallen for the opposing team's daughter and he has sincere respect for you for standing up to your parents and not cowering to their demands. He says that, that right there makes you worth being with and he can't wait to meet you. So you see, Bright Eyes, you have absolutely nothing to worry about where my family is concerned. I want you to put those fears aside and not let them get to you. There's no need for that. Can you do that for me, Bright Eyes?" I asked reaching up and caressing her cheek.

She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch. "I promise to try. But you have to too," she insisted as she opened her eyes and locked them on mine. "You can't go around worrying that I'm going to change my mind about you if you don't want me to doubt whether or not I'm good enough for you."

"You're right. And time will help us with that, Bella. We are only just beginning to put things back together for us. As time goes on, I believe we will lose any doubts that either of us have. We will gain trust, comfort, and security in our relationship," I told her.

"I guess until then we will just have to remind each other of why we're together in the first place."

"And why is that?" I asked, teasing her.

"Because I love you."

"And I love you too." I leaned closer to her and caught her lips with mine in a kiss to back up my words.

When we finally broke apart, I asked her if she was then ready to head to the library. She nodded she was and I took her hand in mine and we headed out to say goodbye to my mom before we left.

I had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time her mother's words would haunt her, but I knew for certain that I'd be there to squash them down every time and remind Bella of just how much I loved her. But for now she seemed content with our pact to help remind each other when either of us had doubts. I made a promise to myself right then and there to never let her down again and I intended to keep it.

* * *

**Hi everyone. I know my updates have been slow with this story. In fact I've never taken this long inbetween chapters ever before when posting a story. I know it can be frustrating, but I have had some huge changes to my life over the last several months. I've gotten divorced, dealt with a crazy ex and had to find a new home for my daughter and myself. We are finally moving into our new home over the next several days and I am confident that once that takes place I will have lot less stress in my life and be able to write more often which will allow me to post more often. Again I apologize, as a reader of fanfiction myself, I do know how frustrating it can be when you are waiting for that next chapter to post. **

**Thanks so much for being the wonderful understanding readers you are and for sticking with me. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Thanks for reading. Can't wait to hear what ya thought.  
**

**See ya next time.**

**EA**


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